Gas prices fall further as pandemic cuts demand
Gasoline prices plummeted further over the past week — dropping the national average to below $2 per gallon — due to the steep drop in demand caused by the coronavirus outbreak, GasBuddy. com said Monday.
Local averages midday Monday, according to GasBuddy, were $2.31 per gallon in Ulster County, down 2 cents from a week earlier; $2.40 in Dutchess County, down 10 cents; and $2.29 in Greene County, down 12 cents.
The New York state average Monday was $2.31 per gallon, down 9.4 cents from a week earlier, GasBuddy reported. The national average fell 10.1 cents per gallon, to $1.97.
“[The is the] the first week of the national average being under $2 per gallon ... in over four years as motorists park their cars and shelter in place, leading to an unprecedented drop never before seen in U.S. gasoline demand, causing prices to sink like a rock,” said Patrick DeHaan, head of petroleum analysis for GasBuddy.
“With the nation continuing to be under siege from the coronavirus and millions staying parked at home, there’s quite a bit more downside that’s in the pipeline coming in the weeks ahead,” DeHaan said. “We could easily see the national average fall 50 cents to a dollar per gallon.”
New York state’s average gasoline price Monday was 29.8 cents per gallon lower than a month and 40.1 cents lower than a year ago. The national average Monday was 45.7 cents per gallon lower than a month and 72.7 cents lower than a year ago.
Over the past five years, the average gasoline price on March 30 in New York state has been: $2.72 per gallon in 2019, $2.74 in 2018, $2.42 in 2017, $2.13 in 2016 and $2.56 in 2015.
For live fuel price averages, go to fuelinsights.gasbuddy.com.