MARION COUNTY - Marion County’s current average gas prices sit at $1.64 but may soon see a rise in price as the demand for gasoline is predicted to see an increase in the coming months.
According to American Automobile Association (AAA), the average gas price has dropped from $1.77 per gallon last month to $1.56 per gallon in the state of Alabama.
Although prices nationwide have steadily decreased in the past few weeks because of low gas demand and cheap crude prices due to COVID-19, Thursday, April 30, was the first day in 10 weeks that the national average for a gallon of regular gasoline had increased.
Between Wednesday, April 29, and Thursday, April 30, the national average increased by a penny to $1.77 per gallon, which is two cents less than the previous week, 24 cents less than the previous month and $1.11 less than a year ago.
According to data from the Energy Information Administration, domestic gas demand continues to increase, which has helped push up the national average.
It grew from 5.31 million barrels per day to 5.86 million barrels per day last week; however, it is still 3.37 million barrels per day lower than last year’s rate at this same time.
As more states aim to end their stay at home orders and businesses around the country begin to reopen, gas demand is likely to continue increasing and pump prices are likely to slow their decline and possibly increase, too.