Forget those turtle doves and partridges in pear trees! It’s after Christmas now and in the last 12 days, consistent crude oil prices and low demand have contributed to stable prices at the pump nationwide and in Connecticut.
Today’s national average price of $2.26 for a gallon of self-serve, regular is a penny higher than last week and 33 cents lower than last year. In Connecticut, today’s price average of $2.28 is 2 cents higher compared to last week; and 41 cents lower compared to last year.
In both cases, there’s been very little price movement at the pump because demand is at its lowest level in 23 years, said Fran Mayko, AAA Northeast spokeswoman.
“Since holiday road travel was down at least 25% this year, most states saw little change at the pump between the last week of December and the first few days of the new year,” she added.
In fact, AAA expects demand to continue its decline in coming weeks so gas prices most likely will follow suit, said Mayko. “However, how high – or low—prices will go in 2021 will largely depend upon the price of crude oil and supply and demand. Crude oil – the driving force of prices at the pump – has consistently hovered around the $48 a barrel mark for the last few weeks.
Here is AAA’s weekly price survey of Connecticut’s six metro regions:
Greater Bridgeport $2.35 Lower Fairfield County $2.33
New Haven/Meriden $2.25 Greater Hartford $2.25
New London/Norwich $2.29 Windham/Middlesex $2.30
Statewide Average: $2.28
Today, Mississippi and Texas register the lowest prices in the nation at $1.93, followed by Missouri at $1.95. Hawaii and California continue to hold the highest prices in the nation at $3.27 and $3.25. respectively. Connecticut moved to the 15th spot on the list of states with the highest gas prices in the nation. Average gas prices may be obtained daily through www.gasprices.aaa.com.