AAA: Gas prices starting to stabilize

Virginia gas price hikes have slowed to a halt after rising a total of 13 cents per gallon on average since Sept. 16 due to disruptions on the Colonial Pipeline.

Today’s average for a price of gasoline in Virginia is $2.10 per gallon, unchanged as of yesterday, nine cents higher than last month and seven cents higher than a year ago.

“Virginia gas prices appear to be stabilizing after rising quickly as a result of a pipeline disruption earlier this month,” said Tammy Arnette, Senior Public Affairs Specialist for AAA Mid-Atlantic.  “We should expect to see gas prices begin their seasonal decent as supply issues stabilize.  This time of year we typically see gas prices drop due to less driving demand and the changeover to a cheaper winter-blend of gasoline.”

The national average price of regular unleaded gasoline remained relatively stable over the past week, settling at today’s price of $2.21 per gallon. Drivers are paying the same price per gallon month-over-month, and 8 cents less per gallon year-over-year.

Drivers in a number of states (25) are paying less at the pump week-over-week, although some volatility remains in the Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions where gasoline prices continued to see upward momentum as a result of the Colonial Pipeline disruption. Line 1 operations were restored on Wednesday of last week after more than a week of downtime following the discovery of a leak. While delivery of fuel resumed, it may take a week before affected states see any relief at the pumps.