Just in time for Labor Day, Washington’s average price of gas continues to fall – now to $4.72 a gallon.
GasBuddy’s Patrick DeHaan, says summer winding down and China still locking down have driven down recent oil demand, but he says we’ve seen 11 straight weeks of decline going back to the Fed first talking about interest rate hikes. “When the economy slows down,” DeHaan says, “Americans don’t spend as much, they don’t get out as much, and that impacts oil demand in a negative way.”
King County’s average right now is $4.81 a gallon, while it’s $4.65 in Pierce County and $4.33 in Skagit County. That’s a nearly 50-cent swing within a pretty short drive, which DeHaan chalks up to local competition among stations, but he says there’s also a difference on either side of the Cascades – with the west side supplied by west coast refineries while eastern Washington gets its gas from refineries tied to the Rocky Mountains, so he says that can create big differences in how gas is priced in both halves of the state. You can use GasBuddy’s Heat Map to see average prices in your area or somewhere you’re going on your next road trip.
If you like seeing those prices drop, you’ll want to brace yourself for more good news. DeHaan says another 40-cents or more could come off by October.
You can watch Ryan Harris’ complete interview with GasBuddy‘s Patrick DeHaan in the video below:
