Gas prices fall in Rochester this week but still higher than the national average

ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Rochester’s average gas price dropped for the third week in a row. However, local prices can’t seem to fall below the national average, like it was throughout much of October and all of September.

Local gas prices landed on $3.70 per gallon after falling by 6 cents this week, 4 cents last week, then 2 cents the week before that. Rochester has seen a trend of falling gas prices since mid-June, after prices hit an all-time record of $4.99 per gallon, with prices increasing some weeks along the way.

For the national average, which was $3.66 per gallon this week, the downward trend has been even steeper. Prices fell by 15 cents this week, 11 cents last week, then 11 cents the week before. Rochester overtook the national average for the price of gas in the third week of October after local prices rose while prices in the western United States fell dramatically. Since then, Rochester’s prices haven’t climbed below the national average.

The cheapest gas in Rochester this week was $3.23 per gallon on Sunday while the most expensive was 66 cents higher, found a GasBuddy’s survey. You can find the cheapest local stations through a link to GasBuddy.

Gas prices in Rochester were 3 cents more expensive than gas in Buffalo and 2 cents more than in Syracuse. Like most weeks, Watertown took the prize for the most expensive gas in upstate New York, at $3.78 per gallon, while Elmira took the prize for the cheapest, at $3.56 per gallon.

In November, the state and Monroe County gas tax relief entered its fifth month. The tax relief has aimed to save consumers a total of $0.28 per gallon at the pump – $0.16 at the county level and $0.12 at the state level – since June 1.

The gas tax relief will end on December 31 but one assembly member from the Albany area is calling for the tax relief to be extended for another six months.

Gas prices have skyrocketed over the past year because of rapid recovery from the pandemic increased the demand so high that supply couldn’t keep up. Europe’s restrictions on importing Russian oil also scrambled world oil prices, affecting the U.S. even though the U.S. imports very little Russian oil. 

You can explore gas price trends on the website for AAA.