Gasoline prices fell this week three cents compared to last week to land at $3.45 a gallon and the price could slip as low as $3.10 by Christmas, according to AAA East Central Senior Vice President Bevi Powel.
Last year at this time the price stood at $3.89.
Powel links the slide in prices to a trio of key factors, saying “Winter blends of gasoline are little bit cheaper to manufacture, demand is always a little bit lower after the summer driving season, and we have not had one hurricane effect the production in recent months.”
The Atlantic and Gulf hurricane seasons end Nov. 15, and forecasters are not predicting any disruptive storms any time soon.
Nationally, the average price of a gallon of gas stands at $3.35 with Hawaii seeing the highest prices at $4.10 and South Carolina is at the bottom of the list at $3.08. Those numbers are all about 22 cents less than last year.
Powell said the partial government shutdown does not seem to be having an immediate impact on the price of gas. Had the shutdown come at the time when refineries were switching over from produce summer blend gasoline to winter blend, Powel said, it could have had an impact.
