Gas prices for Labor Day weekend will be the lowest amount drivers have paid since 2004, but those traveling outside of Ohio will see cheaper prices.
The average national prices for the holiday weekend are estimated to be $2.19 a gallon, a slight decline from the current national average of $2.21 a gallon but well short of last year’s price of $2.44 a gallon, according to GasBuddy.com, a fuel price analyst company.
In this region, the average price was $2.30 a gallon on Friday, down from $2.41 a gallon last week. Prices were expected to increase this weekend before making an annual drop during the fall. A year ago, Ohio drivers were paying $2.31 a gallon, according to GasBuddy.com
The cheapest gas found in the region was $2.09 a gallon at the Costco in Centerville.
Prices at the pump this summer have been the lowest motorists have seen in 12 years, and consumers have saved nearly $19 billion at the pump, according to GasBuddy.com.
“It’s been a summer at the pump for the books,” said Patrick DeHaan, a senior petroleum analyst for GasBuddy.com. “Next summer’s prices will likely make this summer’s look like a bargain as oil markets continue to balance over time and Americans continue to drive the most miles they ever have.”
Analysts say the cheaper prices have come amid the global glut in supply and increased production.
Demand for gasoline typically falls after Labor Day as the summer driving season comes to a close. In addition, environmental rules that call for costlier, cleaner-burning gasoline formulas end on Sept. 15 in much of the country, which also helps to keep prices down.
It’s “a double-whammy of downward pressure just in time for autumn,” GasBuddy said in a statement.
“It’s said to see summer gone already, but I’m interested to see how low prices will go in the fall,” said Eli Duncan of Kettering.
Duncan, filling his truck Friday at the BP gas station on South Dixie Drive, said he’s noticed his spending habits changing as gas prices remain low.
“I think I’ve added a six-pack to my list each week. It’s nice to have the extra money in my wallet,” Duncan said.
The decrease in gas prices means more people have taken to the road. Total vehicle miles traveled increased to 3.15 trillion miles in 2015 up from under 3 trillion in 2013 when gas prices were higher, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
And with that increased traffic means for fatal accidents on highways. Traffic fatalities increased more than 7 percent between 2014 and 2015, according to the NHTSA. More than 35,000 people were killed on highways last year, the largest increase since 1966, the NHTSA said.
