After seeing some declines because of reduced demand for fuel and oil in China and in the United States, gas prices have stagnated in recent days, leaving millions of Americans shelling out more and more money at the pump.
According to consumer group AAA, the current national average is $4.246 per gallon. In Illinois, that number is nearly a quarter higher at $4.494 per gallon.
AAA says that the price of a gallon of gas has gone down just one cent in the last week, and the story is similar in Illinois, with fuel prices dropping by $.012 cents per gallon in the last seven days.
The consumer group says that the largely-stagnant gas prices can be blamed on oil prices, which have stabilized at around $110 per barrel even with reduced demand in China due to COVID restrictions. Demand in the United States has also dropped for the second straight week, which the group says flies in the face of a traditional increase in driving as the spring moves along.
Volatility caused by the ongoing conflict in Ukraine is helping to keep oil prices high, according to experts.
“The global oil market reflects the volatility caused by the war in Ukraine grinding onward,” spokesperson Molly Hart said. “And with oil prices refusing to fall, the price at the pump is likewise meeting resistance at dropping further.
That resistance is also occurring at the local level as well. In the Chicago-metro area, the price of fuel has actually increased by one-tenth of a cent in the last week, while the price of fuel has gone up by almost four cents a gallon in the city.
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In Elgin, the price of fuel has dropped by more than two cents a gallon, according to officials with AAA.
The one area where gas prices have actually dropped by a significant amount is in Kankakee, where the average price of a gallon of fuel has gone down by more than six cents a gallon in the last seven days.
A second and even larger gas giveaway took place across parts of Chicago and several surrounding suburbs Thursday morning as businessman Willie Wilson offers up $1 million in free gas.
Kankakee County also has the distinction of having the cheapest gas, on average, in northeast Illinois. The average price of a gallon of gas in the county is currently $4.348, while in neighboring Will County, that number is at $4.426 per gallon.
Here are the latest prices in the metro areas contained in the NBC 5 viewing area.
Chicago Metro Area:
Current Average – $4.617
One Week Ago- $4.616
City of Chicago:
Current Average – $4.868
One Week Ago – $4.829
Elgin:
Current Average – $4.469
One Week Ago – $4.492
Kankakee and Bradley:
Current Average – $4.348
One Week Ago – $4.412
Rockford:
Current Average – $4.391
One Week Ago – $4.418
Here are the latest average prices by county, according to AAA:
DeKalb County: $4.536
DuPage County: $4.475
Grundy County: $4.478
Kane County: $4.445
Kankakee County: $4.348
Kendall County: $4.342
Lake County: $4.380
LaSalle County: $4.380
McHenry County: $4.381
Will County: $4.426
