Gas prices expected to rise in coming weeks in Midwest

So low in fact, you can now get gas for – hold your breath – nearly $2 a gallon!

In the Bellingham metro area the average price for a gallon of gas was $2.39 on Wednesday, October 7, according to AAA Washington’s Daily Fuel Gauge Report.

“For the first time since June 2009, every state has an average below $3 per gallon”, Auto Club spokesman Jeffrey Spring said in a statement. Through the GasBuddy.com website and the free GasBuddy mobile app, users can find and share gas prices with fellow drivers, saving big money at the pump.

In British Columbia, the average price for a gallon of gas is $4.28 in Canadian currency, according to GasBuddy. AAA estimates that American consumers are spending almost $350 million less on gasoline per day compared to a year ago. Traders also are concerned about a slowdown in the economy in China, the world’s largest oil importer.

“Just realized gas prices jumped so much its insane!” Driving is expected to remain relatively high through the end of the year, which means 2015 could go down as the busiest driving year of all time.

Indio’s Sinclair station on Indio Boulevard offers fuel at a slightly lower price of $2.57 per gallon and prices in Rancho Mirage and Coachella are about 10 cents higher than the average, but local motorists are expected to continue to be able to take advantage of low prices at least for the next week, according to GasBuddy senior petroleum analyst Gregg Laskoski. “Opening this week Pacific Northwest wholesale gasoline prices are among the lowest in the US and that is truly a rarity”. Now that Hurricane Joaquin is no longer an imminent threat, market watchers are focusing their attention on domestic supply and demand in light of falling rig counts and the potential impacts of this year’s refinery maintenance season.