Gas prices fall in season

Published 10:07 pm Tuesday, October 23, 2018

Gas prices are dropping along with leaves and temperatures across Virginia, AAA Tidewater Virginia announced on Monday.

According to the Monday press release, the average price for a gallon of gas in Virginia was $2.63 on Monday, which was four cents cheaper than last week, but still a 38-cent increase compared to the same time last year. Prices in Hampton Roads were even cheaper at $2.57 per gallon, a six-cent dip from last week and a 40-cent difference from the same time last year.

This statewide decrease follows the national trend. The national gas price average was $2.85, according to the press release, which was six cents cheaper than October’s peak price of $2.91. That recent peak was the most expensive average recorded for the month of October since 2014.

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The Monday average was also four cents cheaper than last week, but the same price that was recorded last month and 39 cents more than the same time last year. Reduced refinery runs in peak maintenance season have helped stabilize gasoline inventories amid lower overall demand, resulting in cheaper prices nationwide.

“Motorists across the country are seeing gas prices more than a dime cheaper than last week,” Georjeane Blumling, spokeswoman for AAA Tidewater Virginia, stated in the press release. “Prices are falling despite market concerns about global supply and geopolitical tensions, but that could change later this month ahead of the U.S. announcement of imposed sanctions on Iran.”

Gasbuddy.com on Tuesday recorded regular gas prices at Suffolk pumps that ranged from as low as $2.39 to as high as $2.59, a sharp decline compared with the $2.55 to $2.74 range that was recorded on Oct. 9.