Prices at the Pump Set August Record as National Average Holds at $4.09

August is on track to be the most expensive August ever at the pump, and it happened without a single dramatic day. The national average for regular is $4.09, one cent under last week, per AAA. The record is that the daily national average never dropped below $4 any day this month. That makes it the first August on record to hold above $4 the whole way, beating the old August high from 2022.

For retailers, a flat $4.09 is a mixed hand. Pump volume holds because drivers are still driving, but a $4 handle all month long pushes trip consolidation and tighter basket sizes inside the store. With fuel margin thin at these prices, the in-store margin is what carries the visit.

Demand is up

Drivers didn't blink at $4. EIA put gasoline demand at 9.04 million barrels a day last week, up from 8.68 million the week before. That is a real jump heading into the back half of summer, and it is the number holding the price where it is even as crude stays put.

The demand read is the part retailers should watch closest. Strong gallons at a $4 average means traffic is there to be converted. The operators making money this month are the ones turning a full-tank stop into a coffee or a loyalty swipe, because the fuel margin at these price levels is thin and unreliable.

Crude is steady

Crude is stuck in the $80-a-barrel range, held up by continued volatility in the Strait of Hormuz. Flat crude is why the pump average barely moved week to week. If the strait settles, crude could ease and give retailers a little room on street price into September. Stay tense and $80 is the anchor, with $4 gas riding along.

E15 backing

A convenience store chain picked up local support for E15, per Dickinson County News. E15 is the year-round summer question that never fully settles, and each store that adds the blend is another data point for jobbers weighing whether to plumb for it. Worth tracking where the support translates into actual dispenser conversions.

Community play

Eastern Propane & Oil is running its 11th annual Runaway Pumpkin 10K and 5K. It is a small item, but the propane and heating-oil marketers who keep customers year to year are usually the ones whose name shows up on the local race bib. Cheap marketing, real retention.

What to watch

Whether September demand holds near 9 million barrels a day once the summer travel season winds down, and whether the Strait of Hormuz avoids new trouble, which would let crude and the pump average slide off the August record.