Press release from AAA:
Today’s national average price for a gallon of gasoline is $2.18, down 1 cent from last week. One year ago, the price was $2.67. The New York State average is $2.27 – down a penny since last week.
A year ago, the NYS average was $2.76. AAA Western and Central New York (AAA WCNY) reports the following averages now:
- Batavia -- $2.21 (down 1 cent since last week)
- Buffalo -- $2.23 (down 2 cents since last week)
- Ithaca -- $2.20 (down 1 cent since last week)
- Rochester -- $2.25 (down 1 cent since last week)
- Rome -- $2.32 (no change since last week)
- Syracuse -- $2.21 (down 1 cent since last week)
- Watertown -- $2.31 (down 1 cent since last week)
Gas prices are down by a penny in most areas, and they are significantly cheaper than last year – the national average is 49 cents cheaper than one year ago. The Energy Information Administration (EIA) reports that gas demand saw a slight uptick, however, demand is still much lower than where it was at this time last year.
That lower demand has helped pump prices to decline this week and will likely help pump prices to continue their descent as fall approaches. Crude prices may continue to increase if supplies grow tighter, but demand challenges could contain potential growth in prices.
From GasBuddy:
"Gas prices have tiptoed lower with seasonal factors the primary driver, though with hurricane season continuing to be very active, sporadic shutdowns of oil rigs in the Gulf is leading to volatility in the price of oil, which may become a factor in the weeks ahead," said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis for GasBuddy.
"With oil's rally back to $41 per barrel last week, the downturn in the national average may be put on pause for a couple of weeks, but we remain very likely to eventually continue to downward momentum into the heart of autumn. For now, we remain at the lowest prices seasonally since 2004 in most states, and largely, motorists can expect that to continue."
