Gas Prices Reach Year Low

Today’s national average price for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline is the lowest it’s been all year. The current average $3.25. The previous lowest price of the year was three cents higher than today’s average, and was recorded almost a year ago on January 1st. Gas prices have declined for almost a month, and the current average is 17 cents less than a month ago. Marilyn Buskohl with AAA South Dakota says fuel prices were slow to decline this year. She says prices usually start falling after Labor Day, but problems with refineries switching to the winter blend led to the slow fall.
 
“It took a while for the gas prices to catch up to where we expected them to be, you know we expected to see these prices maybe a month ago. You know, the cliché is that gas prices rise like a rocket and they drop like a feather, and that’s what we’ve seen this year,” Buskohl says.
 
Buskohl says factors contributing to lower gas prices include the winter-blend fuel which is less expensive to produce, cheaper crude oil prices, and lower demand. South Dakota’s state average for a gallon of gas is $3.20, about five cents lower than the national average. The most expensive gas in the state is in Irene, while the cheapest is in Murdo.