Price of Gas in Hilo Down 48 Cents Since April

Gasoline prices across the state have dropped 32 cents a gallon since record highs were set 10 weeks ago, according to the AAA’s Daily Fuel Gauge Report for Hawaii.

The average price for a gallon of regular gas in Hawaii today was $4.295. That’s down 12.5 cents from $4.390 a week ago and 24.6 cents from the average of $4.541 a month ago.

The record highest average price in the state was $4.618 a gallon set on April 11, the report said.

In Hilo, the average price today was $4.273 a gallon for regular, AAA said. That’s 17 cents less than a week ago and 39 cents less than a month ago. The record high for the Hilo was $4.760 a gallon set on April 22.

In Kailua-Kona, according to MotorTrend.com, the average price for regular was $4.387 a gallon based on the 10-station data, with the lowest, $4.329, at the Tesoro station on Palani Road.

The price at the pump at the Kailua-Kona Costco store, which is often the lowest in Kona, was not among the stations listed by the website.

The lowest price on the Big Island was $4.199 in Hilo. The highest price on the island was $4.459 in Kapa‘au, although data from some of the station’s listed by MotorTrend.com was not immediately available.

In other parts of the state, the average in Honolulu today was $4.185 and in Wailuku it was $4.732, AAA said.

Hawaii’s gas prices were the highest in the nation, AAA said. Alaska was second at $4.155 a gallon.

Those were the only two states with gas prices above $4.

South Carolina had the lowest prices with an average of $2.975, the only state to dip below the $3 mark. Mississippi wasn’t far behind at $3.048 for a gallon of regular.

The Associated Press reported that today’s national average price of $3.38 per gallon is the lowest level in five months.

Americans are now spending roughly $200 million per day less than in April when the average price peaked at $3.94 per gallon.

The lower prices haven’t prompted more driving across the country, AP reported, as Americans are buying about 5% less gasoline than they did a year ago when gas was 18 cents cheaper.

Concerns about the global economy have oil prices near 8-month lows, AP said.