With the gas tax holiday taking effect last Friday, Connecticut has seen the greatest drop in prices in the nation over the past week. Connecticut’s $4.03 average is 28 cents lower than last week, but still 6 cents higher than last month and $1.14 higher than last year.
The national average also dropped, but by far less, down to an average price of $4.19 for a gallon of self-serve regular. That price is 6 cents lower than last week but still 35 cents higher than last month and $1.32 higher than last year.
Neighboring states also had a much smaller drop than Connecticut, with averages in Massachusetts and New York falling by 6 cents and Rhode Island’s down by 7 cents week-over-week.
Three things to watch for in the oil market this week:
- The Biden administration announced that it would release 1 million barrels of oil per day from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve for the next six months, putting downward pressure on oil prices. American allies in the International Energy Agency agreed on Friday to collaborate on a coordinated oil release, but did not finalize the amount or time of the release.
- The Saudi-led coalition and the Houthis agreed to a two-month truce in fighting in Yemen, which will reduce threats to Saudi oil facilities that have previously been targeted.
- Crude oil benchmarks had their worst week last week since 2020 – analysts will be watching to see if they rebound at all this week.
“The announcement of more oil being released from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve has helped reduce the price of crude oil,” said Alec Slatky, Director of Public and Government Affairs for AAA Northeast. “On top of the lowered national price, Connecticut drivers are seeing an additional drop at the pump thanks to the gas tax holiday.”
Here is AAA’s weekly price survey of Connecticut’s six metro regions:
Greater Bridgeport $4.09 Lower Fairfield County $4.08
New Haven/Meriden $4.03 Greater Hartford $3.99
New London/Norwich $4.05 Windham/Middlesex $3.99
Statewide Average: $4.03
Today, Missouri and Oklahoma register the lowest prices in the nation at $3.74 and $3.75, respectively. California and Hawaii have the highest gas prices in the nation at $5.85 and $5.22, respectively. Connecticut dropped to 28th on the list of highest gas prices in the nation. Average gas prices may be obtained daily through www.gasprices.aaa.com.