Area gas prices fall in past week

ALBANY, N.Y. » Albany gas prices have fallen 0.5 cents per gallon in the past week, averaging $3.52 per gallon today, according to GasBuddy’s daily survey of 546 stations in Albany. Gas prices in Albany are 2.5 cents per gallon higher than a month ago and stand $1.29/g higher than a year ago.

According to GasBuddy price reports, the cheapest station in Albany is priced at $3.34 per gallon today while the most expensive is $3.65 per gallon, a difference of 31.0 cents per gallon. The lowest price in the state today is $2.85 per gallon while the highest is $4.49 per gallon, a difference of $1.64 per gallon.

The national average price of gasoline has fallen 3.4 cents per gallon in the last week, averaging $3.37 per gallon today. The national average is down 1.4 cents per gallon from a month ago and stands at $1.26 per gallon higher than a year ago.

“Gas price declines are slowly picking up momentum. With oil’s recent fall and the jury out on a new Covid variant, Omicron, we could be in store for lower prices based on many countries turning back to travel restrictions, limiting oil demand and potentially accelerating the drop in gas prices,” Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis for GasBuddy said.

“There remains a very high level of uncertainty ahead of us as OPEC has also delayed its meetings to await more market movements and information on Omicron. But so far, Americans can expect the new variant to push gas prices even lower. Beyond the next few weeks, it remains nearly impossible to predict where oil and gas prices will head, though turbulence is guaranteed,” De Haan added.