Gas prices are continuing to decline nationally and locally as Maryland motorists dig themselves out of the record-setting blizzard and prepare for another blast of winter weather.
Retail prices in Maryland averaged $2.63 per gallon yesterday, compared to the national average of $2.66 per gallon. The Maryland average is 74 cents per gallon higher than one year ago, but 5.8 cents per gallon cheaper than one month ago, according to MarylandGasPrices.com.
This downward trend has been ongoing for three weeks as the price of crude oil has continued to drop. It was $71.29 per barrel as of yesterday, down from $72.89 during the last week of January.
Crude oil was $40 per barrel in February 2009, when regular unleaded gasoline cost an average of $1.88 per gallon in Maryland, according to AAA Mid-Atlantic.
"Despite another wintry blow from Mother Nature, motorists have found some comfort in the continuing downward trend in prices at the pump," Ragina C. Averella, AAA manager of public and government affairs, said in a release. "Over the past three weeks, we've seen gas prices 'catch up' to the recent decline in crude oil prices. Should crudecontinue to decline, gas prices will likely follow in the weeks ahead."
MarylandGasPrices.com lists the cheapest and most expensive gas stations in the state over a 24-hour period. Out of the 15 listed with the lowest gas prices between Sunday and yesterday, four were in Anne Arundel County.
The Costco at Arundel Mills mall had the cheapest gas in the state, at $2.41 per gallon, while the Exxon at Ridge and Annapolis roads in Hanover came in second at $2.42 per gallon. The AAFES, at MacArthur and Ruffner roads at Fort George G. Meade, was charging $2.46 per gallon as of yesterday morning.
The BJ's at Ritchie Highway and Jumpers Hole Road was charging members $2.51 per gallon, according to the Web site. The list also included stations in St. Mary's, Carroll, Cecil and Baltimore counties and one in Baltimore City.
No Anne Arundel County gas stations were listed among the 15 with the highest prices, which ranged from $2.79 to $2.99 a gallon. Those listed were 12 stations in Montgomery County, two in Baltimore County and one in Frederick County.
The flattening out of the gas prices is something Glen Burnie resident Lisa Gilmore said she has noticed over the past few months, since she commutes daily to her job in Annapolis. She is used to paying about $60 to fill the tank of her Chevrolet TrailBlazer, and said she would happily pay less if possible.
She last filled up over the weekend as she prepared for the storm, spending $2.56 a gallon at the Wawa on Veterans Highway in Glen Burnie. The week before it was 10 cents higher, she said.
"I like to go there when I can because Wawa does have cheaper gas," said Gilmore, who also sometimes fills up at the Royal Farms store in Ferndale. "Annapolis (gas stations) are expensive. I try to avoid them as much as possible. There's like a 10-cent difference."
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