Gas prices falling after setting new Christmas Day record

Average gasoline prices are coming down in the Pittsburgh area and across the nation but remain significantly higher than they were a year ago, according to price tracking service GasBuddy.

According to GasBuddy’s survey of 731 stations in Pittsburgh, gas prices fell 2.1 cents per gallon in the past week to an average of $3.50. That’s 4.2 cents less than a month ago but $1.07 more than a year ago.

Prices in Pittsburgh and across Pennsylvania remain above $3 per gallon, with the lowest price reported at $3.08 per gallon.

The national average fell by more, 4.3 cents per gallon, to an average of $3.25. That’s 14.1 cents per gallon less than a month ago but $1 more than a year ago.

The national average is nearly 20 cents per gallon less than in early November, said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis for GasBuddy.

“While the fall in prices is welcomed, we set an ugly new record for the holiday — it was the most expensive Christmas Day we’ve ever seen by two-tenths of a penny,” De Haan said.

The average on Christmas was $3.26 per gallon, a fraction higher than it was in 2013, according to De Haan.

“Motorists shouldn’t get too worked up about it, (as) the downward direction in gas prices should persist into this week in most areas,” he said.

However, prices are likely to jump soon in five states — Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, Illinois and Kentucky — because of an increase in the wholesale price of gasoline against a backdrop of prices in the region that have fallen under replacement cost, De Haan said.