The average price of a gallon of gasoline in the United States fell just over 14 cents in the past two weeks to some 75 cents below highs seen in August, but prices could be headed higher again, according to an industry analyst.
The national average for self-serve, regular unleaded gas on Oct. 6 was $2.279, according to the nationwide Lundberg survey of more than 6,000 gas stations.
On Aug. 11, at the height of the summer driving season, average retail gas prices had reached an all-time record of $3.02, according to the survey.
“With much lower prices, demand can be restimulated. This points to the end of the price crash coming up soon,” survey editor Trilby Lundberg said, adding that evidence of a turnaround to higher gasoline prices has already surfaced.
“Demand drops anyway after August and refiners do not need to maximize gas output. They need to be performing work projects for winter fuel output and shift emphasis to heating oil output,” Lundberg said.
“Prices to wholesale distributors in much of the middle of the country from the Gulf Coast have been rising already, so there is a turnaround evident in certain wholesale markets already,” Lundberg said.
At $2.91 a gallon, Honolulu, Hawaii, had the highest average price for self-serve, regular unleaded gas. Des Moines, Iowa, featured the lowest average price among stations surveyed at $2.03 per gallon.