Today’s fuel price musings - no longer on top

Add comment March 3rd, 2008

(data courtesy of AAA’s fuelgaugereport.com)

Gasoline: I totally called it Friday.Over the weekend, Rockford dropped out of the top spot in Illinois, falling to fourth Sunday and third today. We’re at $3.17 a gallon, a fraction of a cent above the state average. We gained a cent since Sunday but have lost almost eight cents since last Tuesday. The state dropped half a cent since Sunday. The Quad Cities, at $3.21 a gallon, and Chicago, at $3.20 a gallon, are on top of Illinois, even though their prices have been trending downward. They just didn’t drop as much as we have. The state average is a fraction of a cent above the national average, which hasn’t happened in a long time. Illinois has the 19th-highest gas prices in the country. In fact, over the last week, Illinois prices have dropped on average two cents, while the national average has gone up three cents. Watch to see if Illinois turns around to match the national trend.

Diesel: Rockford dropped back to ninth out of 11 metro areas in the state at $3.74 a gallon, eight cents below the state average. We gained a cent since yesterday, while the state gained three cents. The Quad Cities shot up to first with a nine-cent hike to $3.91 a gallon. Chicago  increased two cents to $3.90 and the mercurial Danville market jumped almost 15 cents to $3.90. They seem to be in a race to $4, a race we hope not to join. The state average increased to 15 cents above than the national average; Illinois has the 8th-highest diesel prices in the country.