The Passenger Seat
Whether you ride, drive or fly, transportation issues affect everyone. Especially when fuel prices are so high. Join Thomas V. Bona as he examines the things that make the world move.

Today’s fuel price musings - If I ignore $4 gas, it won’t go away

June 2nd, 2008 at 06:03pm Thomas V. Bona

Sorry it’s been a while since I last posted one of these. I’ve had nothing insightful to say about high fuel prices

Here’s the info (data courtesy of AAA’s fuelgaugereport.com):

Gasoline: Rockford dropped half a cent this morning to $4.07 a gallon, 1.5 cents below the record set Sunday. Hopefully Sunday was the high-water mark, but I wouldn’t bet on it. Our prices have gone up about 40 cents in the past month, and we’re third in the state. The state averaged inched up a fraction of a cent to a record 4.13 a gallon, a 38 cent hike in the past month. The national average remained at a record $3.975, up 36 cents from a month ago. Illinois has the sixth-highest gas prices in the nation.

Diesel: Rockford dropped a fraction of a cent to remain at $4.83 a gallon this morning, down more than three cents from the record set Saturday. Still, prices are up 53 cents from a month ago. We still have the second highest diesel prices in the state. The state average dropped half a cent and sits at $4.81 a gallon, 48 cents up from a month ago. The national average dropped almost a cent to $4.79 a gallon, but is till up 54 cents from a month ago. Oddly enough, Illinois has the 19th-highest prices in the country.

Entry Filed under: Fuel price musings

2 Comments Add your own

  • 1. Craig Knauss  |  June 3rd, 2008 at 1:20 pm

    How can Rockford have the 3rd highest prices for gas ($4.07) and be BELOW the state average ($4.13)? Doesn’t make sense.

  • 2. Thomas V. Bona  |  June 5th, 2008 at 12:37 pm

    Craig,

    Thanks for the question. Sorry I’m late in responding. Basically, it’s because the Chicago metro area is such a huge chunk of the average. I don’t know what percentage of gas stations in Illinois are in the Chicago metro area, but more than two thirds of the population is there, so Chicagoland’s high prices outweigh everyone else. Chicago has been running about 9 cents above the state average (and that’s the metro average, so inner-city stations are much higher).

    Meanwhile, the places with “cheaper” gas are small and make up a fraction of the overall average.

    Hope that helps. Thanks for asking.

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