R.I. gas prices fall 1¢, ending 3-month rise

PROVIDENCE – Gasoline prices locally have fallen for the first time since late March, AAA Southern New England said today in its weekly fuel-price report.
AAA’s June 23 survey of stations nationwide found the average self-service price for regular unleaded gasoline in the Ocean State has fallen 1 cent – to $4.099 per gallon, or 96 cents more than at the beginning of the year – ending a 12-week rise that included 10 straight weekly records. A year ago, the average local price of self-serve unleaded was $2.939.
The nationwide average price of self-serve regular also retreated 1 cent over the past week, the nonprofit auto club found, to an average of $4.07 per gallon or 2 cents below this week’s Rhode Island price.
The self-serve price of diesel at Rhode Island stations also dipped 1 cent per gallon to $4.929, after holding for two weeks at $4.939.
The range in prices for self-serve regular at local stations widened to 21 cents, from a low of $4.019 to a high of $4.299. Wider ranges were seen for other grades of gasoline, which had average self-serve prices of $4.239 for midgrade unleaded (unchanged from last week’s survey) and $4.349 for premium (down 6 cents), AAA found.
Meanwhile, in Massachusetts, the price of unleaded regular was unchanged from a week ago – at $4.069 per gallon, or $1.01 more than at the beginning of the year – ending a 10-week rise.
AAA Southern New England is a nonprofit auto club providing travel, insurance, finance and auto-related services to more than 2 million local members with 34 offices in Rhode Island and Massachusetts. To find the most up-to-date self-service and full-service gasoline prices in a given area, go to www.AAA.com and click on Gas Saving Tips & Tools.