Local gas prices on the rise despite state, national drops
Crittenden County among locations seeing uptick in Arkansas
By Ralph Hardin
news@theeveningtimes.com
Average regular gasoline prices in Arkansas increased 6.6 cents per gallon last week, even while the national average fell 4.2 cents per gallon, according to a report from Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at consumer advocacy group GasBuddy.
“As of Monday morning the average price per gallon at Arkansas pumps was $3.08, which is 5.4 cents lower than last month, and 35.2 cents lower than a year ago, said De Haan. “The national average for a gallon of gasoline was $3.37 per gallon on Monday.
The national average price of diesel declined 2.6 cents in the last week to $3.69 per gallon. That’s the lowest level in 940 days.”
De Haan suggested the drop in most of the country was seasonal in nature.
“Gasoline and diesel prices continue to trail off across much of the country as summer demand fades away,” he said. “Lower demand in other oil-consuming nations is also helping to lead the downward pressure on pump prices as we approach Labor Day.”
De Haan said there are international factors to consider as well.
“With little new action in the Middle East to rile up prices and Hurricane Ernesto remaining far out at sea, it looks like the downward trend could continue into the week ahead.
As more schools begin to resume, gasoline demand will likely continue to ease. With the transition to winter gasoline less than a month away for the majority of the nation, gas prices will soon begin their seasonal cooling off – just as temperatures soon will as well.”
The nation’s top 10 least expensive gasoline markets with average prices per gallon between $2.96 and $3.16 at the beginning of this week, are Arkansas, Mississippi, Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Alabama, South Carolina, Kansas, and Missouri, even with Arkansas seeing statewide averages go up last week.
Oddly, the price of a gallon of gas in Northeast Arkansas, while still below the state average, is higher than many parts of the state. In Crittenden County, the average price per gallon was $2.94, 14 cents below the state average but 4.8 cents higher than a month ago — a phenomenon that might be explained by the wide margins between the county low of $2.64 per gallon and rates as much as 75 cents higher. Here were the average gas prices per gallon in other Northeast Arkansas counties Monday morning:
• Crittenden, $2.97
• Craighead, $2.94
• Randolph, $3.05
• Greene, $3.09
• Clay, $3.10
• Mississippi, $3.11
• Poinsett, $3.11 • Cross, $3.11
• Lawrence, $3.14
• Jackson, $3.20.
Arkansas remains far behind the curve in the cost of owning and charging electric vehicles. AAA spokesman Andrew Gross said that while Arkansas is among the top 10 cheapest states for gas prices, it is among the top 10 most expensive states for L2 commercial charging per kilowatt hour. The most expensive states on average for charging according to AAA are: Hawaii (56 cents), West Virginia (45), South Dakota (43), Arkansas and Idaho (42), Kentucky, Montana, New Hampshire, and Tennessee (41) and Alaska (40 cents).
Photos by Ralph Hardin
Gas prices varied wildly in Crittenden County on Monday morning with per-gallon rates as low as $2.64 in some places and as high as $3.39 in others. Even within the same franchises, disparity was seen with the Marion Shell Station offering a consumer- friendly $2.69 per-gallon cost while the Shell near Tilden Rodgers Park in West Memphis was 70 cents higher.
