Hurricane Harvey’s effect on gas prices easing; Irma unlikely to raise cost

The cost of gas in Columbia held steady Sunday into Monday, averaging $2.52 per gallon, according to GasBuddy’s daily survey of 350 retail outlets in the city.

Monday morning’s average, however, is 2.2 cents more than a week ago, 48.3 cents more than last month and 64.2 cents more than a year ago, the technology company’s survey shows.

Hurricane Irma is not expected to affect gasoline prices, but retail effects from the storm that lashed Texas and parts of Louisiana continue, said Patrick DeHaan, senior petroleum analyst for GasBuddy.

The average retail price in the capital city for the past two days remains lower than the national average of $2.65, which has risen 1.8 cents per gallon in the past week, according to GasBuddy’s website.

Across the South Carolina, the average price Monday morning is $2.54, down 1 cent from Sunday. Still, the statewide average is up 2.4 cents from last week, 46.3 cents from last month and 63.7 cents from a year ago, the survey shows.

“Motorists shouldn’t expect to see any impact from Irma on gasoline prices due to the path being a considerable distance from sensitive areas of the energy sector,” DeHaan said.

“Harvey may be long gone, but his wrath continued to drive gasoline prices up in much of the country in the last week,” DeHaan said.

“The national average gasoline price appears to have peaked last week (on) Thursday at $2.67 per gallon and is beginning to slowly decline for the time being,” he said.

This story was originally published September 11, 2017 at 8:18 AM with the headline "Hurricane Harvey’s effect on gas prices easing; Irma unlikely to raise cost."