AAA reports CT gas prices continue to slide

AAA Northeast reports from is branch office in Hamden that prices for gasoline in Connecticut continue slide as summer draws to a close, demand slows and domestic production increases. AAA notes, however, that markets are keeping a close watch on renewed tropical storm activity in the Atlantic and increasing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East.

In Connecticut, a gallon of self-service regular is averaging $3.48, down three cents from a week ago and down twelve cents from a month ago. Connecticut ranked as the 16th most expensive state in the U.S. for gasoline at the pump. The national average is $3.44, down three cents from last week and down nine cents from last month.

Last week, demand for gasoline in the U.S. reached 8.9 million barrels a day, a drop of nearly 300,000 barrels a day compared to the prior week, according to the Energy Information Administration. Meanwhile, inventories, which had been shrinking for two weeks straight, rebounded as refiners added 1.3 million barrels to on-hand supplies.

The supply and demand picture mitigates the impact of crude oil prices, which rose sharply last week in anticipation of escalating conflict in the Middle East. Crude prices were also buoyed by the formation of a new tropical disturbance in the Atlantic, which is now likely to become Hurricane Ernesto and could threaten the U. S. in the coming days.

The AAA found that in Bridgeport the average price for a gallon of regular was $3.53. In Hartford, he price was $3.46. Lower Fairfield County came in at $3.49 per gallon while the New Haven/Meriden area was $3.47.

The lowest gasoline prices in the U.S. were $2.95 per gallon in Mississippi, and $3.01 per gallon in Tennessee. Hawaii was highest $4.66 with California close behind at $4.60.