Aurora, Ill., U.S.A. — AAA Chicago’s most recent Fuel Gauge Report estimates that in Illinois, the average regular unleaded gasoline prices decreased $.08 in July with an average cost of $3.60 for the month. This price is $.27 lower than last year. This is despite the price increases at the end of July, which were largely due to production issues at refineries in Whiting, IN and Lemont, IL.

In northern Indiana, gas prices averaged $3.56 in July, which is down $.06 from June 2012 and down $.27from July 2011. Gas prices for both Illinois and Indiana mark the third-highest average price for July ever recorded.

“Illinois, Indiana and states in the Midwest have seen prices rise since last week due to  production issues at the BP refinery in Whiting, Indiana and the Citgo refinery in Lemont, Illinois,” said Beth Mosher, Director of Public Affairs for AAA Chicago. “With the supply from these refineries impacted, and the associated increase in wholesale prices already seen in the region, there is reason to suspect that prices in the areas supplied by these facilities may continue to rise until the situation is resolved.”

Illinois’ daily price on July 31, 2012 of $3.71 (not monthly average) was the 6th highest in the country. The five states with the highest gas prices include: Hawaii ($4.148), Alaska ($3.995), Conn. ($3.818), Calif. ($3.802) and N.Y. ($3.767).

Other monthly averages across the region:

• In Cook County, Ill., self-serve regular unleaded gasoline averages $3.83, which is down $.10from last month and $.26 lower than last year’s price-per-gallon.
• In DuPage County, Ill., self-serve regular unleaded gasoline averages $3.70 per gallon, which is a 7-cent decrease from June and down $.24 from last year.
• In Kane County, Ill., self-serve regular unleaded gasoline averages $3.68 per gallon, which is down $.08 compared to last month and $.25 lower than July 2011′s price.
• In Lake County, Ill., self-serve regular unleaded gasoline averages $3.68 per gallon, which is$.09 lower than last month and down by $.23 compared to this time last year.
• In McHenry County, Ill., self-serve regular unleaded gasoline averages $3.67 per gallon, which is $.08 lower than last month’s average and $.23 lower than July 2011′s price.
• In Will County, Ill., self-serve regular unleaded gasoline averages $3.65 per gallon, which is $.06lower compared to last month and $.23 lower compared to last year.
• In Champaign County, Ill., self-serve regular unleaded gasoline averages $3.41 per gallon, a decrease of $.06 from June and a decrease of $.27 from last year.
• In McLean County, Ill., self-serve regular unleaded gasoline averages $3.37 per gallon, which is$.12 lower than last month and $.35 lower than last year.
• In Peoria County, Ill., self-serve regular unleaded gasoline averages $3.46 per gallon, which is down $.11 compared to last month and down $.29 from July 2011.
• In Sangamon County, Ill., self-serve regular unleaded gasoline averages $3.43 per gallon, which is $.03 lower than last month and $.29 lower than last year.
• In Winnebago County, Ill., self-serve regular unleaded gasoline averages $3.49 per gallon, a decrease of $.10 from June and $.26 lower than July 2011.
• In Allen County, Ind., self-serve regular unleaded gasoline averages $3.44 per gallon, which is a decrease of $.09 from last month and $.28 lower than July 2011′s price.
• In Lake County, Ind., self-serve regular unleaded gasoline averages $3.56 per gallon, a 7-centdecrease from June’s average and a $.21 decrease from a year ago.
• In Porter County, Ind., self-serve regular unleaded gasoline averages $3.56 per gallon, which is $.04 lower than last month and $.24 lower than last year.
• In St. Joseph County, Ind., self-serve regular unleaded gasoline averages $3.47 per gallon, which is $.10 lower compared to last month and $.27 lower compared to last year.

Fuel prices are posted on-line at www.fuelgaugereport.com, which updates prices daily for unleaded, diesel and E85 blends of fuel.

Image Courtesy of  Snap Man

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With gasoline prices rising and prompting President Obama to address the issue in a speech in Florida on February 23, Americans expect prices to continue to hike up, according to a recent survey.

The Advanced Energy Economy (AEE) Survey found that 62 percent of Americans expect a gallon of gasoline to be $5 or more within the next five years. Eight in ten Americans said that the country’s dependence on foreign oil was either a “crisis” or “major problem” and that the cost had become a “burden.”

Findings from the survey include:

• 62% of Americans think a gallon of gas will cost $5 or more in the next 5 years. What’s more, 31% believe it will be $6 or more and more than 1 in 10 (12.4%) believe it will be $7 or more.
• 82% see our dependence on foreign oil as a “crisis” or “major problem” and where you fall in the political spectrum is largely irrelevant – this view applies to 85% of Republicans, 80% of Democrats and 78% of Independents.
• 78% called the amount of money they spend on gasoline a “burden” – with nearly half saying a “serious burden” and nearly two-thirds reporting they are taking steps to save on gas costs.
• 67 percent of Americans say they have taken steps in the last 3 years to save gasoline (such as buying a car with better gas mileage or changing their driving behavior). Even more than 60% of those making over $100,000 annually reported taking action to reduce their gasoline use.
• 55 percent of Americans believe that efforts to make greater use of energy saving technologies that help our country do more with less have been “positive” because they save money over the long run and make our economy more productive and competitive.  25 percent believe these efforts have been “negative” and 20 percent don’t know/not sure.

The AEE online survey of 1,004 adults was conducted from Dec. 6 through Dec. 7, 2011, by JZ Analytics. It has a margin of error of +/- 3.2 percentage points. The survey was designed by AEE staff with fieldwork done by JZ Analytics. Full survey results are available upon request.

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