Rochester’s gas prices rise for third week in a row and remains higher than national average

ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Rochester’s average gas price has risen for three weeks in a row, breaking a months-long trend of falling prices.

The price increased by 9 cents the first week, then 3 cents the next week. Now, prices have risen by another 3 cents, making the average $3.82 per gallon according to AAA.

Prices have fallen significantly since hitting their peak in mid-June, where Rochester hit an all-time record of $4.99 per gallon. However, November has been a turning point so far.

New York State’s average price has seen a similar trend, falling since setting a record in mid-June but rising in the past three weeks by 5 cents, 14, cents, now 3 cents. That makes the state’s average, $3.90 per gallon, even higher than Rochester’s average.

Rochester ranked near the middle for most expensive gas in western New York this week. Rochester’s prices are 4 cents more expensive than in Buffalo and 1 cent more expensive than in Syracuse. The cheapest price in the region is Elmira, at $3.77 per gallon, while the most expensive is Watertown at $3.95 per gallon.

The cheapest gas in Rochester was $3.48 per gallon on Sunday while the most expensive was 71 cents higher, found a GasBuddy’s survey. You can find the cheapest local stations through a link to GasBuddy.

Rochester’s gas prices have overtaken the national average of the third week in a row. Throughout much of September and October, Rochester’s prices we cheaper than the national average. Now, prices in the northeast including New York are rising while prices along the west coast are falling, making this week’s national average $3.77 per gallon.

In November, the state and Monroe County gas tax relief entered its fifth month. The tax relief has aimed to save consumers $0.28 per gallon at the pump, $0.16 at the county level and $0.12 at the state level, since June 1.

The gas tax relief will end on December 31 but one assembly member from the Albany area is calling for the tax relief to be extended for another six months.

News10NBC reported on a study that suggests that, while consumers benefited initially from the New York State gas tax relief, middlemen and retailers eventually absorbed the gas tax. Those practices minimized the savings for consumers.

Gas prices have skyrocketed over the past year 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. 

Prices in Rochester are still $0.30 higher than this time last year and the state’s average is still $0.34 higher.

You can explore gas price trends on the website for AAA.