Gas prices in Rochester drop two cents this week

ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Gas prices in Rochester dropped by two cents compared to last week inching closer to the national average. According to AAA, Rochester’s average was $3.51 per gallon and the national average was $3.47 per gallon.

Local gas prices have fallen significantly since mid-June, after prices hit an all-time record of $4.99 per gallon, but they’ve since stabilized. Prices have hardly changed, increasing by only two cents, over the past four weeks.

The state’s average has followed a similar trend, dropping throughout last summer and fall before leveling. The state average was $3.56 on Monday, which is a decrease of a cent from the previous week but a decrease of nine cents compared to four weeks ago.

Local prices were expected to jump up significantly, $0.22 per gallon or more, after Dec. 31 because the gas tax relief ended. The relief aimed to save consumers $0.06 at the Monroe County level and $0.16 at the state level.

However, prices kept falling for the first two weeks in January and only increased slightly in the third week. That could indicate that middlemen absorbed the benefits of the tax relief instead of consumers, which a study Institute of Taxation and Economic Policy warned about.

Rochester’s gas prices this week were the same as in Syracuse but seven cents higher compared to Buffalo. Rome had the most expensive gas in upstate New York at $3.61 while Batavia took the prize for the lowest at $3.43 per gallon.

The cheapest gas in Rochester this week was $3.24 per gallon on Sunday while the most expensive was 55 cents higher, found a GasBuddy’s survey. You can find the cheapest local stations through a link to GasBuddy.

Gas prices skyrocketed in the spring and summer of 2022 because of rapid recovery from the pandemic increased the demand so high that supply couldn’t keep up. Europe’s restrictions on importing Russian oil also scrambled world oil prices, affecting the U.S. even though the U.S. imports very little Russian oil.

However, prices have dropped since then because of a more stable demand.  The average for gas is now cheaper for the state and Rochester compared to January of 2022. You can explore gas price trends on the website for AAA.