Big Island Fuel Prices Stagnant

Stagnant gas prices are hitting the Hilo fuel market, while Kona prices continue to fluctuate slightly.

Spiraling downward gas price trends during the summer leveled off during the month of October.

Big Island Now has continued its watch over prices calculating Big Island fuel price data using AAA’s Fuel Gauge Report and Gas Buddy data.

The average cost of regular fuel in Hilo on Monday was $2.83, the same exact price as last week and a one cent increase over Sunday’s recorded average of $2.82. Mid-grade fuel rose by one cent in the past week to $2.93 after raising by three cents the week prior. Premium gasoline was the only fuel grade to decrease over the past week in Hilo after experiencing a six-cent jump last week. On Monday, premium fuel was an average of $3.06, a two-cent decrease compared to last week’s average of $3.08.

Analysis of AAA’s report shows that the average fuel prices across the board for all fuel grades are up compared to their counterparts one month ago. This is the first time all month that the fuel prices were higher than their previous month’s matches. Regular fuel rose by one cent while mid-grade and premium fuel rose by two and five cents, respectively.

Average fuel prices compared to the same time period in October 2014 are still down by more than one dollar. In 2014, regular fuel cost an average of $3.97, while mid-grade gasoline was an average of $4.08 and premium fuel was an average of $4.17.

In Kailua-Kona, fuel price averages saw a similar trend to Hilo prices, holding close to last week’s averages with a slightly larger fluctuation than what was reported in Hilo.

Big Island Now’s calculation of Gas Buddy data from Kailua-Kona shows that regular fuel was an average of $3.06 Monday, two cents less than what was reported for the prior two weeks. Mid-grade gasoline was an average of $3.17, a one-cent increase compared to last week’s numbers. Premium fuel saw a four-cent increase to $3.27 Monday.

In Honolulu, the average price of regular fuel cost nine cents less than Hilo’s average and 32 cents less than Kailua-Kona’s average regular fuel price. Oahu fuel buyers were paying $2.74 for regular fuel Monday, holding last week’s average of the same value steady.

Diesel buyers in Hilo were paying an average of $4.19 on Monday, a one-cent increase over the past week and a 10-cent increase in the past week. Honolulu diesel buyers were paying $4.41, a one-cent difference compared to last week.

National averages for regular fuel on Monday were $2.20, a five-cent decrease compared to last week. The national average is 63 cents less than Hilo’s average this week and 86 cents less than Kailua-Kona’s prices.

Club member-only prices, such as Costco and HFN, are excluded from this analysis and its averages.