Drivers in Kailua-Kona doled out an average of $3.34 per gallon of regular unleaded gasoline this week, an analysis of GasBuddy.com and AAA data shows.
That’s up from a low of $3.27 in February, but down 39 cents from the beginning of January, the data showed. At the Kailua-Kona Costco, where membership is required, a gallon of gas averaged at $2.99, up three cents from last week.
In Waimea, that same gallon of gas was $3.51 per gallon drivers paid $3.52 in Waikoloa Village. Fueling a vehicle in the Waikoloa resort area cost drivers an average of $3.69 per gallon this week. All prices in South Kohala have gone unchanged for the past several weeks.
In Kealakekua, motorists doled out $3.34 per gallon this week, according to the GasBuddy.com data.
Based on the data from Kona and Kona, the average price of a gallon of gasoline in West Hawaii, with the exception of the Waikoloa resort area, was $3.43, down a penny from the week prior. Including the Waikoloa resort area, where prices are normally higher, motorists this week doled out on average $3.48.
Fueling up in Hilo during the week cost drivers on average $3.09 per gallon, according to GasBuddy.com data. AAA’s Daily Fuel Gauge Report put the average price of gas at $3.14 per gallon during the week, up a penny from last week. AAA does not track gas prices for other Big Island areas.
The statewide average for a gallon of regular unleaded fuel was $3.14 between Monday and Friday, according to AAA. One year ago, Hawaii residents were paying more than a dollar more at $4.25 per gallon.
In Honolulu, a gallon of gas averaged $3.04 per gallon, according to AAA. Drivers in the Wailuku area of Maui paid $3.24 for the same gallon of gasoline.
Nationwide, the average price for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline this week was down from $2.42 to $2.41.
Despite an eight cent drop in the average price of a gallon of gas in California, the Golden State continued for the fifth consecutive week to pay the most for gas at $3.17 per gallon. South Carolina drivers paid the least at $2.10 per gallon.
“While prices over the past month are higher for many drivers, year-over-year price comparisons continue to highlight universal savings. Sharply lower oil prices have resulted in substantially less expensive gas prices in every state, including a price at the pump that is discounted by $1 or more per gallon in 43 states and Washington D.C.,” AAA Public Relations Manager Michael Green said in a prepared statement this week.