Metro Detroit Gas Prices Hit Lowest Levels In 5 Years
DEARBORN (CBS Detroit/AP) — AAA Michigan says statewide gas prices have dropped about 19 cents a gallon in the last week to the lowest average in more than five years.
The auto club says the average price per gallon of self-serve regular unleaded gasoline was $2.48 on Sunday. That's about 68 cents less than it was a year ago. This is the fifth week in a row that the statewide average price has fallen.
Dearborn-based AAA Michigan surveys fuel costs at 2,800 Michigan gas stations daily. It says the cheapest price was about $2.37 in the Flint area. The highest price was about $2.68 a gallon in the Marquette area.
The auto club says the Detroit-area average has fallen for the 15th week in a row, to about $2.50 a gallon.
So why are prices continuing to decline?
Bankrate.com explains it this way: A variety of market forces are at play, the experts there found, including the fact people are driving less, which drives down demand and lowers prices; winter gasoline as a rule is cheaper; the price of crude oil is declining in the wake of a major pipeline reopening in Libya; and the weather has been blissfully calm in the Gulf.
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