WXXI - Gas prices continue to drop locally and across the country. The AAA of Western and Central New York said on Monday that gas in the Syracuse area is averaging $4.42 a gallon, down 6-cents from a week ago.
That’s down 33-cents from a month ago, but still up $1.24 a gallon compared to a year ago.
Even with the gas prices falling, New York state overall, still has an average price of $4.34 a gallon, while the national average is $3.96 per gallon.
AAA spokeswoman Valerie Puma said that part of the reason for that has to do with the way crude oil has to be transported.
“New York state doesn’t have any petroleum refineries in the state; our closest location is in New Jersey, actually,” said Puma. “We are having to get that delivered all across the state. That is one really big reason why New York State would be more expensive than other states, or even the national average.”
Puma said the factors behind the recent steady decline in gas prices include the fact that a lot of drivers started changing driving habits when gas prices began to skyrocket.
“A lot of it is coming down to crude oil prices, which make up more than half of the price that you’re paying at the pump, as well as supply and demand. So if fewer drivers are filling up, then the demand is lower and that makes the inventory of existing gasoline a little bit cheaper.”
In terms of where prices are headed in the near future, Puma said that gas prices may still fall a bit further, but could rise toward Labor Day.
“If oil prices edge lower then drivers will continue to likely see falling pump prices. It is hard to say for later in the summer, if people are going to be traveling for the Labor Day weekend, but soon after (that) as kids start to go back to school we could see those gas prices start to stabilize again.”
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