Gas Prices Should Continue to Fall

Barring unexpected disruption to production and distribution -- like say, a third annual devastating October hurricane -- gas prices in the Lehigh Valley and elsewhere are expected to dip a bit more before year's end, according to AAA’s weekly fuel report.

The report says that the average price of a gallon of self-serve gasoline in the Lehigh Valley this week is is $3.325, .9 cents lower than a week ago, 13.7 cents lower than a month ago and a whopping 39.5 cents lower than a year ago.

This is pretty much on par with what’s happening across the country, the report says. This week, the current national average retail price for a gallon of self-serve regular gasoline is $3.344, down .3 cents from a week ago, down 13.5 cents from last month and 32.1 cents lower than a year ago.

Although prices at the pump have been essentially stagnant the past two weeks, AAA says that customers can expect gas prices will fall even further as the end of the year approaches, citing sufficient supplies, flat demand and the shift to cheaper winter-blend gasoline as the primary reasons. 

This predicted drop in prices holds, "barring a hurricane or other unexpected disruption to production and distribution," the report says.

Locally, on Tuesday afternoon there were four Emmaus filling stations selling below the Lehigh Valley average according to gasbuddy.com.

• $3.25 - 7-Eleven, 1146 Chestnut St. & S 12th St., 
• $3.26 - Hess, 4002 Chestnut St. & Colebrook Ave.
• $3.26 - Turkey Hill, 602 Chestnut St. & S 6th St.
• $3.29 - Exxon, 14 E Main St. & Klines Lane

If you know of a better price, please tell us in the comments.