As we approach Labor Day—the traditional end of the summer travel season—gasoline prices in Connecticut are again flirting with the $4.00 mark. Indeed, in Fairfield County, the average price for a gallon of regular has already surpassed that milestone. Motorists in the Hartford area are paying an average of $3.973 per gallon. In southeastern Connecticut, the average is $3.964. The statewide average today sits six-tenths of a cent below $4.00, according to AAA’s Daily Fuel Gauge Report.
The statewide average of $3.994 per gallon for regular is nearly three cents more expensive than a week ago and 18 cents more expensive than a month ago.
Connecticut motorists are now also paying more for gasoline than they were a year ago, when the average was $3.916. While pump prices started high and moved lower during the summer of 2011, we’re seeing the opposite happen this year. Domestic supply and distribution issues have been the driving force behind rising gasoline prices over the last several weeks (see graphic). Oil prices have also been increasing amid positive global economic news and continued geopolitical tensions with Iran.
AAA continues to expect that, given current conditions, prices at the pump will decline following Labor Day as the summer driving season comes to a close and the transition from summer to winter blend fuel occurs.
