News » Top Stories

Gasoline prices in some areas of the U.S. under $3

By WEEK Producer

Gasoline prices in some areas of the U.S. under $3

January 4, 2013 Updated Jan 4, 2013 at 5:54 PM CDT

CHICAGO -- A drive through central Illinois will show you that gas prices have started going down again, hovering around the $3.11 mark.

However, some areas in the United States are below $3, which even lower than what they were one year ago.

GasBuddy.com analysts are reporting that motorists in the Rocky Mountain region are enjoying considerably lower gas prices than the rest of the U.S. and they say it is due to healthy gasoline inventories and the availability of cheap Canadian crude oil.

  Current average price Month ago Year ago
CO $2.89 $3.31 $3.00
ID $2.99 $3.47 $3.04
MT $3.06 $3.35 $3.02
UT $2.92 $3.45 $2.92
WY $2.88 $3.29 $2.99

“The Rockies region is doing very well as they are insulated from the higher price of West Texas Intermediate crude oil and can capitalize on the less expensive crude from Canada,” said Patrick DeHaan, senior petroleum analyst, GasBuddy.com.

“Consequently, 60 percent of gas stations (2,848 out of 4,712) in the Rocky Mountain region have gas below $3 per gallon. Only 24 percent of stations in the rest of the U.S. are below $3,” said Gregg Laskoski, another senior petroleum analyst with GasBuddy.

How long will the low prices last? DeHaan says the logistics of the region keep gasoline price trends two weeks behind what is seen elsewhere in the country.

For more information, visit www.gasbuddy.com.
 

To submit a comment on this article, your email address is required. We respect your privacy and your email will not be visible to others nor will it be added to any email lists.