Labor Day weekend is going to find many area residents on the road, traveling to visit family and friends, and they will find gas prices are higher than what motorists were paying a year ago.
‘’Labor Day signals the end of the summer travel season and the beginning of an autumn trend that normally leads to lower gas prices,’’ according to Beth Mosher. She is Director of Public Affairs for AAA.
But as motorists hit the road for travel this weekend, Mosher notes 2018 gas prices have been significantly more expensive than 2017. In fact, the year-to-date national gas price average of $2.73 a gallon is 41-cents more than last year. In Illinois, the year-to-date average is $2.80 a gallon – 43-cents more a gallon than 2017. And in Indiana, the 2018 year-to-date average of $2.74 a gallon is 49-cents more a gallon than this time a year ago.
‘’In September, gasoline demand drops and refiners switch to a cheaper-to-produce winter blend fuel, putting downward pressure on prices at the pump,’’ according to Mosher. However she notes several factors can reverse the lower price forecast, including crude oil prices, geopolitical tensions and the threat of hurricanes.
[The photo was taken at a Danville gas station on Wednesday, August 28, 2018.]
