Filling the gas tank in the Five Towns

Motorists in the Five Towns have more money in their wallets and spent less on filling gas tanks as fuel prices have dropped this summer.
According to GasBuddy.com, a gasoline price website, the average retail prices per gallon recorded at the state level in Albany have fallen 3.4 cents per gallon in the past week and 11.6 cents per gallon lower than one year ago.
Experts studying the gas price trend say that at this time of the year, decreasing prices are usually rare. In the mid-to-late summer, the hurricane season tends to affect gas prices, making them go up.
Motorists taking late summer vacations will continue to see cheaper gasoline prices as the trend will continue to hold near the lowest levels of the summer, said GasBuddy.com’s Senior Petroleum Analyst Patrick DeHaan.
“The demand for gasoline is highest during the second half of the summer,” he said. “However, oil prices rallied in mid-June, altering the behavior of gasoline prices, and after the situation in Iraq cooled, it let to a widespread selloff in commodities that led to cheaper oil prices and refineries passed the savings onto motorists… The best news is that as the driving season concludes, prices are likely to drop, most significantly in late September through the holidays.”
Gas stations throughout the Five Towns are benefitting from the lower prices. Nick Anto, the owner of the BP gas station, as part of Hewlett Star Auto Care on Broadway in Hewlett, confirms that the trend is the real deal. As a gas station that is centrally located in town, he said that sales have been steady, with gas station customers returning for their garage services as well. A full service station, they still earn a profit, even with only being open from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily.
“Yes, our prices have come down this summer,” he said. “Per gallon, our prices have dropped anywhere between 10 and 15 cents, closer to 15 cents.”