Gasoline prices continued to fall or held steady the past week in Western and Central New York, but the AAA says the price currently is still about 30 cents per gallon higher than it was a year ago.
The New York State Average price is $2.67 a gallon, compared with $2.39 a year ago. The Rochester regional average is down a penny at $2.59; Buffalo is unchanged at $2.65 and Syracuse is down two cents at $2.57.
The AAA says gas prices aren’t following typical trends this year-end. They usually drop off sharply after Labor Day. This year the extreme hurricane season disrupted refiners and kept the prices up. At the same time, consumer demand stayed high instead of dropping off after the summer travel season.
Prices are dropping now because gasoline imports are catching up to the demand.