Suffolk sees ‘low’ gas prices
Published 10:26 pm Monday, August 19, 2013
It may be little consolation for folks who have recently filled up their gas tanks, but Suffolk motorists are at least paying far less than those in most other areas of the continent.
Suffolk, at $3.49 a gallon, is ranked in the bottom third of all cities in the United States and Canada for average gas prices.
The rankings were done earlier this month by GasBuddy.com. They measured the averages for cities that had prices from at least five stations available. Nearly 5,600 cities in the United States and Canada were reported, and Canadian prices were converted to American dollars.
The top 142 cities in the rankings are Canadian, with British Columbia’s city of Delta topping the list at a whopping $5.30 a gallon. The most expensive American city, Needles, Calif., saw drivers paying $4.79 per gallon.
The most expensive city in Virginia was Ashburn, at $3.78 per gallon.
What might really sting Suffolk motorists, however, is that the cheapest gas in North America is so close by.
Danville, only three hours west of Suffolk on U.S. Route 58, was ranked least expensive out of all 5,597 cities in the entire study. Drivers there were paying an average of $3.09 per gallon.
The savings aren’t worth the trip, but if you’re passing through Danville, you’ll want to fill up your tank.
AAA Tidewater Virginia warned in a press release that gas prices have the potential to increase in the coming weeks because of the possibility of late-summer hurricanes and accompanying refinery problems.
“The continued decline in prices over the past few weeks offers a small but welcome relief for everyone,” says Georjeane Blumling, spokesperson for AAA Tidewater Virginia. “Hopefully, this trend will follow us into the fall.”
Last week, AAA listed Virginia’s average price for regular unleaded as $3.38, with the national average at $3.54.