Gas Prices Have Risen, But Are Still Below Last Year's Prices
Although gasoline prices overall have risen, they remain well below the levels of last Independence Day, and have remained very stable nationwide as the summer driving season begins, AAA reports. The average price of self-serve regular unleaded gasoline is a reported 19.6 cents lower than last year, as national prices hold steady at 1.390 per gallon. Stable gas prices are great news for the 32 million Americans expected to travel by car, truck or RV this Fourth of July, up 1.4 percent from last year. Overall, an estimated 36.7 million Americans are expected to travel 50 miles or more from home this holiday. The U.S. Department of Energy's Energy Information Administration confirmed this when they reported July 1 that retail prices for gasoline and diesel fuel ticked up, but remain well below last year's levels. The retail gasoline average hasn't moved beyond a $1.35-to-$1.40 band since mid-April. Gasoline prices moved most in the West. Pump prices in the Rockies were up 1.9 cents at $1.386, while prices on the coast were up 1.7 cents at $1.561, the highest in the country. Gasoline prices were up 0.9 of a cent at $1.372 in the Midwest and up 0.2 of a cent at $1.344 on the East Coast. They were down only on the Gulf Coast, where prices fell half a cent to $1.291. Retail diesel prices rose in every region of the country. The biggest rise was on the West Coast, where prices were up 0.8 of a cent at $1.395 a gallon. Midwest prices were up 0.7 of a cent at $1.260; Gulf Coast prices were up 0.6 of a cent at $1.242; East Coast prices were up 0.3 of a cent at $1.282; and Rockies prices were up 0.1 of a cent at $1.317.
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