BLOOMINGTON – Average gasoline prices in Illinois have risen for the first time in 14 weeks, up 2.1 cents per gallon in the last week, averaging $3.92 a gallon.
“One of the longest gas price declines on record has finally come to an end after 14 weeks, with gas prices shooting up in several regions amidst myriad refinery issues from the West Coast to the Great Lakes and in between,” said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy.
According to GasBuddy, prices in Illinois are 25.5 cents lower than a month ago and 66 cents higher than a year ago.
The national average has risen 3 cents per gallon in the past week, averaging $3.67 a gallon.
The price of diesel has fallen 5 cents nationally in the past week and stands at $4.88 per gallon.
“I don’t know that I’ve ever seen a wider gamut of price behaviors coast to coast in my career. A slew of unexpected refinery disruptions, including fires and routine maintenance, have seemingly all happened in a short span of time, causing wholesale gas prices to spike in areas of the West coast, Great Lakes and Plains states – and some of those areas could see prices spike another 25-75 cents per gallon or more until issues are worked out. In addition, as Tropical Storm Ian nears the U.S. coast, some refiners could see limited disruption. As a precaution, GasBuddy has activated its Fuel Availability Tracker for motorists in Florida, Georgia, Alabama and South Carolina. Hopefully, disruptions will be very limited due to Ian, but there remain many factors driving prices both up and down across the country.”
Jake Fogal can be reached at [email protected].
