R.I.’s 1Q decline in gas prices exceeds national average

DURING THE FIRST QUARTER of 2014, gas prices in Rhode Island fell 17 cents to $3.53 per gallon, compared with $3.70 per gallon during the same period in 2013. The 17 cent decline surpassed the national average year-over-year decline of 14.3 cents, according to GasBuddy.com. / BLOOMBERG FILE PHOTO/ANDREW HARRER
DURING THE FIRST QUARTER of 2014, gas prices in Rhode Island fell 17 cents to $3.53 per gallon, compared with $3.70 per gallon during the same period in 2013. The 17 cent decline surpassed the national average year-over-year decline of 14.3 cents, according to GasBuddy.com. / BLOOMBERG FILE PHOTO/ANDREW HARRER

PROVIDENCE – The price for a gallon of gasoline averaged $3.53 in Rhode Island for the first three months of 2014, according to an analysis by GasBuddy.com.

The first-quarter average represented a 17 cents-per-gallon decline from the average of $3.70 per gallon reported for the first quarter of 2013, meaning Rhode Island’s year-over-year gas price drop beat out the national average of a 14.3 cent decrease.

Across the border in Massachusetts, gas prices fell 15 cents year over year, dropping to $3.48 per gallon for the three months ended in March compared with $3.63 per gallon during the same period a year earlier.

Nationally, Virginia boasted the largest savings at the pump for the first quarter with its 23.7 cents-per-gallon decline, followed by Georgia and Mississippi, each with a 23.5 cent decline; South Carolina with a 23.2 cent decline; and Alabama with a 23.1 cent decline.

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Forty-eight of the 50 U.S. states saw lower gas prices in the first three months of this year compared with the first quarter of 2013. Only Colorado and Wyoming saw average gas prices increase, rising 8.6 cents per gallon and 14 cents per gallon, respectively.

In terms of price for a gallon of gasoline, Montana had the least expensive average during the first quarter, with gas prices averaging $3.09 per gallon, while Hawaii’s average price was highest at $4.06 per gallon.

“Motorists face rising prices every spring for varying reasons, but most notably because of refinery maintenance that slows production of gasoline and stations being required to sell cleaner burning blends of gasoline that cost them more,” said GasBuddy Senior Petroleum Analyst Patrick DeHaan. “We believe that gas prices nationally will average $3.52 per gallon for the April through September time frame, which would be the lowest we’ve seen in a few years.”

GasBuddy.com is an online tool and database that collects gas-price data for regular, unleaded gasoline for display on websites, and offers a free smartphone app to help consumers save money at the pump, the company said.

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