(WBBM NEWSRADIO) — Good news if you’re planning an upcoming car trip or even drive every day to work: Gas prices are continuing to go down.
According to Gas Buddy’s head of petroleum analysis, Patrick DeHaan, prices in the Chicago area have dropped about 17 cents a gallon in the past week, 61 cents in the past month and are now hovering around $5.22 a gallon.
He says it’s within the realm of possibility that prices drop will drop below $5 a gallon.
“We are still coming into the prime of hurricane season and, with a slew of economic data out this week, we could see a little more volatility in the price of oil,” he said Monday. “But I’m hopeful that maybe for the next week or two we will continue to see prices decline.”
DeHaan believes people are noticing the price reductions, but he notes the Chicago area was averaging $3.52 a gallon one year ago.
Motorists will find prices under $4 a gallon downstate. That’s because that region of Illinois doesn’t have to use the pollution-reducing “summer blend,” as Chicago does.
Gas Buddy collects data from 1,400 gas stations in the Chicago area to get the area’s average gas prices. DeHaan said for nationwide numbers, Gas Buddy collects 11 million price reports from more than 150,000 gas stations.
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