Rochester gas prices drop on Thanksgiving week amid downward trend this fall

ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Rochester’s average gas price dropped to $3.76 per gallon during Thanksgiving week amid an overall downward trend this fall.

Rochester has seen a trend of falling gas prices since mid-June, after prices hit an all-time record of $4.99 per gallon, but prices increased during some weeks along the way.

Local gas prices fell by 4 cents this week and 2 cents the week before. That’s a contrast from early November when prices rose by 6 cents over the first two weeks. Rochester’s prices fell during most of October and all throughout September.

For the national average, the downward trend this fall has been steeper. Prices fell by 11 this week and last week, preceded by some small increases and sharp declines since June. The current national average is $3.55 per gallon.

For weeks, Rochester’s prices were lower than the national average. However, that changed in the third week of October as Rochester’s prices rose while the national average fell by 10 cents. Rochester’s prices have yet to climb lower than the national average since then, including this week where the difference was 21 cents.

Gas in Rochester remains cheaper than the state’s average, which fell by 6 cents this week, landing at $3.79 per gallon. However, Rochester’s gas is 3 cents more expensive compared to its neighbors, Buffalo and Syracuse.

The cheapest gas in Rochester was $3.29 per gallon on Sunday while the most expensive was 70 cents higher, found a GasBuddy’s survey. You can find the cheapest local stations through a link to GasBuddy.

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.