Today’s fuel price musings - It’s only going to get worse as the days get longer

Add comment April 7th, 2008

(Data courtesy of AAA’s fuelgaugereport.com)

Gasoline: The national average broke another record Monday, increasing to $3.34. Analyst Trilby Lundberg noted that gas prices are high, even though people are driving less than normal this spring, because crude prices are high and because more ethanol is being sold (also at higher prices). That doesn’t bode well, she said, for the spring and summer, when motorists will push demand and prices up further. Rockford jumped from $3.39 a gallon Friday to $3.45 a gallon Monday. We’re less than two cents a gallon from our all-time record. The state average increased from $3.43 Friday to $3.46 Monday, about six and a half cents from its record. Rockford maintains the third-highest prices in the state, while Illinois is up to the fifth-highest gas prices in the country.

Diesel:  Better news here. Rockford dropped four cents Monday to $4.02 a gallon, the lowest it’s been in a couple of weeks. Every metro area in the state decreased today, and three metro areas fell below $4 a gallon. It would be nice if we could join them. We have the fifth-highest diesel prices in the state now. The state average is at $4.14 a gallon, which is actually where it’s been for a few days. The nation dropped to $4.01 a gallon. Illinois has the 10th-highest prices in the country.