Lower gas prices fuel Labor Day holiday weekend travel; Beaches packed
NEW YORK (WABC) -- It has been more than a decade since U.S. drivers paid so little to fuel up for that last road trip of summer, but the price of gas on the New Jersey Turnpike and Garden State Parkway dropped 7 cents Friday morning.
A gallon of regular gas now costs $2.20 along the state's two major roadways, where the price is determined by averaging gas prices from across the state. Gas is more than a dollar less than it was last Labor Day weekend, when regular was $3.28 per gallon.
Gas prices are also the lowest they've been since 2004, when the average price of a gallon of gas was $1.82 in New Jersey.
Here's the full rundown on this week's price changes:
REGULAR: (87 Octane)$2.27, $2.20
MIDDLE: (89 Octane)$2.59, $2.53
PREMIUM: (91 Octane) $2.71, $2.64
DIESEL: $2.30 $2.27
The national average price of gasoline is its lowest at this time of year since 2004, a result of low oil prices and a quiet hurricane season that has allowed refineries to churn out gasoline and diesel.
"The year of cheap fuel continues," said Tom Kloza, chief oil analyst at the Oil Price Information Service. The national average price of gasoline fell to $2.44 Thursday, nearly $1 a gallon cheaper than last year.
To find the cheapest gas in your area, visit GasBuddy.com/
Thousands are expected to travel this holiday weekend, and the beaches should be packed as revelers snatch up the last rays of sun before the summer's unofficial end.
At the beach:
(The Associated Press contributed to this report)
