The lowest price in the Harrisburg area today is $2.36 a gallon – 10 cents a gallon lower than last week. At this time one year ago, the Massachusetts average was 98 cents higher at $3.57, according to AAA. In Tennessee, the peak price to date this year has been $2.58 (on June 17).
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The price at the pump continues to drop as oil prices also plunged in recent days.
GasBuddy Senior Petroleum Analyst Patrick DeHaan says gas prices are returning to what they were before they rose at the start of summer. In Rockford, the cost of a gallon of regular fell more than a nickel since last week, to $2.50.
That’s the third largest month-over-month drop across the nation.
“In another couple of weeks, more stations in New Orleans and Baton Rouge will drop below $2 and sometime between September and mid-October, we might be looking at a Louisiana statewide average that’s below $2”. Over the same period, the price of crude oil has fallen from $55 to under $44. “If that happens, and there are no supply issues, markets could see $2 gasoline again this fall”.
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Oil prices were about $45 a barrel, near their low for the year. These savings have been partially offset by rising food prices this year, as a poultry disease and California’s drought pushed up food prices and thus the inflation rate by 0.3 percent in June and will continue weighing on the pocketbooks on poorer Americans. “In some parts of the country, we might be seeing a $2 price point by the end of the year”, she said.
