Gas prices drop in Q1 compared to last year
News release
Consumers in the U.S. saw gasoline prices steam to a record average price in February, but the motor fuel market cooled considerably in March. Contrary to public perception, average first quarter 2013 gas prices averaged below 2012 numbers, GasBuddy reported.
In fact, Americans paid about 30 cents per gallon less for gasoline in the most recent Easter Weekend than they paid over the same period in 2012. Gas prices averaged just over $3.64 gal on Good Friday and may dip further in coming days. Consumers paid just over $3.93 gal on Easter Weekend last year. GasBuddy analyst Patrick DeHaan estimates that each penny per gallon translates into about $3.6 million per day in cost differences based on typical demand numbers. Hence, consumers are saving about $108 million each day when current costs are compared to last year.
The average first quarter 2013 price, compiled by GasBuddy, was $3.548 gal, compared with a $3.584 gal price level in the first quarter of 2012. As recently as 2009, the first quarter gasoline price averaged under $1.90 gal, so these are still stiff numbers when compared with 21st century historical values. Ten years ago, U.S. gasoline prices averaged under $1.59 gal for the same period.
GasBuddy ranked 363 distinct “Metropolitan Statistical Areas” or MSAs, and found two U.S. markets that actually averaged less than $3 gal during the entire first quarter. Fortunate motorists in Casper and Cheyenne, Wyoming found an average first quarter 2013 price of $2.87 gal and $2.955 gal, respectively, down about 16 cents per gallon from last year. The Rocky Mountain region was the most attractively priced area of the country, thanks in part to relatively cheap North American crude availability for refiners.
In all, 300 Metropolitan Statistical Areas saw cheaper first quarter prices for gasoline than in 2012, with two MSAs showing no statistically significant change. More expensive markets in 2013 included locations in Vermont, New York, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania. The most expensive market in the country was the Honolulu area, but the outright price of $4.157 gal this year was just 3 cents per gallon above the 2012 number.
Highest prices were generally witnessed along the New England coastline as well as Florida, California and the Pacific Northwest and the cheapest prices were in the Rockies and Great Plains.
Diversity in gasoline pricing approached record levels. GasBuddy estimates that a discriminating shopper could save an average $1.13 per gallon in Washington, DC, for example. Other markets that saw huge differences between best prices and the top of the market included California, where motorists could slash costs between 50 cents per gallon to as much as $1.00 per gallon if they fueled based on the cheapest price available.
Despite the recent downtrend, GasBuddy is reluctant to say that motorists have seen the peak pricing level for gasoline in 2013. Hot spots which could see local gasoline price spikes include Great Lakes’ states and Northeastern metropolitan areas, for example. Prices could swing dramatically in the heartland thanks to extensive spring maintenance for Midwestern refineries, and the East Coast could be impacted by sagging foreign imports of gasoline.
Top 10 Most Expensive Markets in First Quarter 2013
1. Honolulu, HI 4.157
2. San Luis Obispo-Atascadero, CA 4.049
3. Los Angeles-Long Beach, CA 4.033
4. Santa Barbara-Santa Maria, CA 4.029
5. Ventura, CA 4.020
6. Orange County, CA 4.013
7. San Diego, CA 4.002
8. Riverside-San Bernardino, CA 3.993
9. San Francisco, CA 3.970
10. New York, NY 3.968
Top 10 Least Expensive Markets in First Quarter 2013
1. Casper, WY 2.873
2. Cheyenne, WY 2.955
3. Rapid City, SD 3.054
4. Great Falls, MT 3.081
5. Missoula, MT 3.113
6. Billings, MT 3.116
7. Salt Lake City-Ogden, UT 3.130
8. Provo-Orem, UT 3.134
9. Albuquerque, NM 3.151
10. Santa Fe, NM 3.162
Top 10 Largest Increase or Smallest Decrease from Q1 2012
1. Pueblo, CO 0.054 1.7%
2. Utica-Rome, NY 0.054 1.4%
3. Greeley, CO 0.053 1.7%
4. Burlington, VT 0.053 1.4%
5. Rochester, NY 0.053 1.4%
6. Barnstable-Yarmouth, MA 0.050 1.4%
7. Jamestown, NY 0.050 1.3%
8. Fort Collins-Loveland, CO 0.048 1.5%
9. Denver, CO 0.048 1.5%
10. Sharon, PA 0.045 1.2%
Top 10 Largest Decrease or Smallest Increase from Q1 2012
1. Anchorage, AK -0.243 -6.2%
2. Rapid City, SD -0.239 -7.3%
3. Tucson, AZ -0.215 -6.3%
4. Richland-Kennewick-Pasco, WA -0.194 -5.5%
5. Las Vegas, NV -0.187 -5.2%
6. Medford-Ashland, OR -0.187 -4.9%
7. Modesto, CA -0.168 -4.3%
8. Portland-Vancouver, OR-WA (OR Only) -0.166 -4.5%
9. Spokane, WA -0.163 -4.8%
10. El Paso, TX -0.163 -4.8%
Top 10 Markets with the Largest Daily Range Between Highest 1% of Sites and
Lowest 1% Sites
1. Washington, DC (DC Only) 1.138
2. Riverside-San Bernardino, CA 1.094
3. San Francisco, CA 0.998
4. Flagstaff, AZ 0.954
5. New York, NY 0.923
6. Santa Barbara, CA 0.916
7. Salinas, CA 0.909
8. Los Angeles-Long Beach, CA 0.889
9. San Diego, CA 0.874
10. Bakersfield, CA 0.868
Top 10 Markets with the Smallest Daily Range Between Highest 1% of Sites and Lowest 1% Sites
1. La Crosse, WI (WI Only) 0.032
2. La Crosse, WI (MN Only) 0.079
3. Green Bay, WI 0.090
4. Great Falls, MT 0.107
5. Eau Claire, WI 0.109
6. Altoona, PA 0.119
7. Sheboygan, WI 0.123
8. Wausau, WI 0.131
9. Duluth-Superior, WI (WI Only) 0.134
10. Appleton-Oshkosh, WI 0.136
