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KENTUCKY TODAY

There’s an old saying that gas prices jump up but float down. That seems to be the case as the average price in Kentucky continues the trend of floating down, according to GasBuddy, a crowd-sourced website and mobile app dedicated to tracking gas prices.

For the second straight week, the nation’s average gas price has declined, falling 9.3 cents from a week ago to $3.77 per gallon on Monday. However, that is still up 10.2 cents from a month ago and 41.2 cents per gallon higher than a year ago. The national average price of diesel has risen 4 cents in the last week and stands at $5.30 per gallon.

In Kentucky, it’s a similar situation. The price spike that began a month, reached a statewide average of $3.54, before beginning to slowly fall. Monday’s average was $3.42, down seven cents from last Monday’s $3.49. That is 18 cents per gallon higher than a month ago at this time and 34 cents higher than on this date in 2021.

Kentucky is considered by GasBuddy to be part of the Great Lakes Region, which is one of the areas seeing declines.

“Average gas prices have declined for the second straight week with significant declines in the West and Great Lakes having an oversized effect on the drop in the national average,” said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy. “With oil prices struggling a bit after reaching $93 after OPEC+’s decision to cut production, many regions could see falling gas prices again this week as demand continues to decline seasonally, especially if more data points to a significant economic slowdown.”

Although gas prices have seen a drop, De Haan points out, “Diesel prices have been somewhat mixed, with prices heading higher in the Northeast as inventories drop to extremely tight levels ahead of the heating oil season.”

Rising risk of economic downturn, weak Chinese imports and a stronger U.S. dollar were factors pushing oil prices deeper into the red Monday, with a barrel of West Texas Intermediate crude oil down $1.96 per barrel, accelerating on worries that demand could plummet with a drop in economic activity. Brent crude oil was down $1.76 to $91.74 per barrel, slightly higher than last week’s $91.11 per barrel start.

De Haan adds, “Drivers are reminded that the decline in gasoline prices is seasonal and should continue into the fall and is unrelated to the coming election. Seasonality is king in driving prices, not the desires or hopes of politicians.”

To find and report gas prices in Kentucky, go to Kentuckygasprices.com.