Gas Prices Continue to Increase
Today’s national average price for a gallon of gasoline is $3.67, up 7 cents since last Monday. One year ago, the price was $4.08. The New York State average is $3.62, up 8 cents since last Monday. A year ago, the NYS average was $4.19. AAA Western and Central New York (AAA WCNY) reports the following averages:
- Batavia – $3.55 (up 5 cents from last Monday)
- Buffalo – $3.60 (up 7 cents from last Monday)
- Rochester – $3.63 (up 7 cents from last Monday)
Gas prices continue to rise. The main culprit is the high cost of oil, gasoline’s main ingredient, which is hovering in the low to mid $80s per barrel. The national average has risen daily since March 29. When the cost of crude oil crosses the $80 a barrel mark, that puts a lot of upward pressure on pump prices. Unfortunately, as long as oil costs remain at the current level, drivers will likely see incremental price increases for now even though demand has subsided. The Energy Information Administration (EIA) reports that gas demand decreased slightly after Easter while total domestic gasoline stocks dropped slightly as well. Lower demand would typically push pump prices down; instead, elevated oil prices have pushed them higher. If oil prices continue to rise, pump prices will follow suit.
Diesel prices remain steady. The national average price for a gallon of diesel is $4.20, no change from a week ago. Here in New York, the current average for diesel is $4.82, down 2 cents from last week.
