Gas price drops a penny in SC: York County still cheaper than NC, but will it go up again?
For the first time in weeks, gas prices actually dropped Tuesday.
A whole penny.
There is no cheap gas anywhere, but prices in York, Chester, and Lancaster counties remain less than the South Carolina average, according to AAA and GasBuddy.
Given that backdrop, a hair under four bucks a gallon might be considered almost cheap.
For commuters to Charlotte, gas below the border in South Carolina remains substantially cheaper than in North Carolina.
Yet it remains unclear if prices will rise again.
SC average above $4 a gallon
The South Carolina average for a gallon of regular gas is $4.06, more than $1.40 higher than a year ago at this time, statistics show.
The price of oil has risen since the war in Ukraine started, according to AAA Carolinas. And even though the price of gas dropped a cent Tuesday, experts are unsure if prices will stabilize, drop down, or rise again.
“It bears reminding that the cost of oil accounts for about 50% of what drivers pay at the pump,” said Tiffany Wright, AAA spokesperson. “This war is disturbing an already tight global oil market and making it hard to determine if we are near a peak for pump prices, or if they keep grinding higher. It all depends on the direction of oil prices.”
Wright said oil prices are so volatile that predicting the way gas prices will go is difficult at best as area drivers head into spring and summer vacation season.
“While crude oil prices have been falling, gas prices remain extremely volatile right now, so it’s hard to know what drivers should expect next month, let alone next week,” Wright said.
Gas remains cheaper in South Carolina than much of the country.
South Carolina lawmakers are expected to soon debate suspending the 26 cent per gallon gas tax, but the discussion about the gas tax has not happened yet, according to The State newspaper.
The national average for gas is $4.32 a gallon, according to AAA figures.
Rock Hill, York County have gas under $4
Gas prices could be seen Tuesday for as low as $3.80 in Rock Hill, according to GasBuddy, a company that tracks prices nationwide. Several places had gas around $3.85 per gallon, GasBuddy showed.
The average in York County is $3.97 for a gallon of regular, according to GasBuddy.
Lows in Chester and Lancaster counties were $3.89 with average prices just over $4 a gallon in those two counties, GasBuddy figures show.
The Rock Hill region saw its highest average on March 10 at $4.02 a gallon, according to AAA.
Commuters back at it
Many companies have returned workers to offices in recent weeks. Thousands of people commute from York County to Charlotte each day for work.
The average price for gas in North Carolina is $4.17 per gallon, AAA shows.
And when a search is done for cheapest gas in the Charlotte area on GasBuddy, the Rock Hill locations with cheaper gas come up at the top of the list.
Average prices in Charlotte are around $4.18 per gallon, so buying in York County saves drivers as much as 20 or 30 cents a gallon.
