Gasoline and Home Heating Oil Prices are Way Down in Connecticut

As recently reported by Hearst CT Media, gasoline prices in Connecticut are now at least 40 cents per gallon cheaper than they were last year at this time.

And prices for home heating oil – one of the fuels of preference for Connecticut homeowners –are at their lowest in four years.

Both price drops are good news for consumers bothered by a summer of record heat and the high electricity bills that come with battling the costly effects of global climate change.

According to the Automobile Association of America (AAA), the average price for a gallon of regular unleaded gas in Connecticut was about $3.39 on the Thursday before the Labor Day weekend – down 41 cents, or almost 11%, from last year at this time. That’s about the same price for gas that people are paying in Wyoming and Maine. Connecticut prices are even down 16 cents a gallon from even just a month ago.

Connecticut gasoline prices spiked to $5 a gallon for regular unleaded in the summer of 2022, a few months after Russia invaded Ukraine and fears of supply disruptions spiked crude oil prices from $70 a barrel to $115 a barrel.

So why the drop now?

“Right now, inventories are good. We have more inventory than we did last year, so supply is less tight. We’re not seeing a fuel shortage,” AAA Northeast spokeswoman Lauren Fabrizi told Hearst CT Media. “Another reason is, despite the popularity of summer road trips, overall gas demand is down right now. That’s partly because daily driving habits have changed following the pandemic. For example, with more people working remotely, they’re not commuting as much.”

But gasoline isn’t the only fuel that Connecticut consumers are saving on this fall.

Right now, prices for home heating oil – used by about 42% of Connecticut homeowners to heat their homes in the winter (along with natural gas and electricity) – are at their lowest levels in about four years.

Home heating oil is selling for as low as $2.59 a gallon in some places in Connecticut, though the statewide average is about $3.36 a gallon. Still, that’s significantly cheaper than the $4.28 a gallon a year ago in October 2023, or the $5.92 two years ago in October 2022.

Some home heating oil dealers are even offering “pre-buy” or “lock-in” contracts where customers can pre-buy a set amount of oil at a set price, and avoid the inevitable price hikes that come in the late fall and early winter due to supply and demand.

Posted by Lawrence Cook