Gas prices in Ulster below state average

Gasoline prices in Ulster County towns remain below the state and national averages.

Average gasoline prices fell slightly last week in New York and the country, according to GasBuddy. com, and prices in Ulster County towns remained below the state and national averages.

Local averages Monday morning, according to GasBuddy, were $2.132 per gallon in the Kingston area, up 0.3 cents from a week ago, $2.143 in Saugerties, down 2.9 cents from a week ago, $2.169 in Woodstock, up 1.8 cents f rom a week ago; and $2.117 in New Paltz, down 9 cents from a week ago.

The New York state average Monday morning was $2.26 per gallon, down 0.9 cents from a week ago, while the national average fell 0.7 cents per gallon, to $2.17, GasBuddy reported.

“It’s been a fairly quiet week for gas prices yet again, but with oil tanking last week, there’s a possibility motorists may see a renewed downward direction in average prices in the days or weeks ahead,” said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis for GasBuddy.

“However, according to Pay with GasBuddy data, gasoline demand inexplicably rose last week to the highest level since August, breaking with c onventional wisdom that fall demand is typically weak,” De Haan said. “While we have no direct reasoning for the rebound, five of seven days last week saw much above the prior week’s gasoline demand, in fact, Friday saw the highest gasoline demand since Labor Day. If demand continues to somehow defy such conventional trends, we may see an end to the possibility of future declines.”

New York state’s average gas price Monday was 3 cents per gallon lower than a month ago and 45.2 cents lower than a year ago, according to GasBuddy. The national average was 4.3 cents per gallon lower than a month ago and 49 cents lower than a year ago.

Over the past five years, the average gasoline prices on Oct. 5 in New York state have been: $2.72 per gallon in 2019, $2.99 in 2018, $2.70 in 2017, $2.33 in 2016 and $2.39 in 2015.