By Jake Fogal
BLOOMINGTON – Gas prices in Illinois continued to inch down over the week, but are still well above four dollars, averaging $4.42 a gallon.
According to GasBuddy, prices in the state are 26 cents higher than a month ago and $1.41 higher than a year ago.
GasBuddy price reports show the cheapest station in Illinois is priced at $3.79 while the most expensive is $5.39.
The national price of gas dropped about five cents over the week, averaging $4.17 a gallon.
“Oil prices fell last week as Covid cases in China surged, prompting restrictions on the movements and hurting oil demand. Meanwhile, President Biden’s announcement that the U.S. would be releasing 180 million barrels from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve caused an even further decline in oil, leading gas prices in nearly all areas of the country to fall over the last week,” said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy.
“So long as oil prices remain under $100 per barrel and there’s no escalations in Russia’s was on Ukraine, we may be poised to see gas pric3es decline again this week as the U.S. and other countries try to raise oil supply to tip prices lower.”
Jake Fogal can be reached at Jacob.Fogal@Cumulus.com.
