As Gas Prices Fall, Range Of Prices Widen: Analyst

Gasoline prices continue to fall in downstate Illinois. And as they fall, a wider range of pricing is becoming apparent.

Analyst Patrick DeHaan with the gas-price-tracking website GasBuddy.com credits the range in prices to the rapid fall in the cost of wholesale gasoline. He says that means gas stations that have just refueled may have gas at a lower price than those still selling gas obtained several days earlier.

"There's a wide range in prices", said DeHaan. "Some stations that are filling up with our cheaper gas pass the savings along more quickly. They’re the aggressive retailers who bring prices down. Whereas the station that bought gas five days ago at a higher price may be reluctant to lower theirs.

Prices reported to GasBuddy show a 25-cent spread in gas prices in Decatur … a 29-cent spread in Champaign-Urbana, and a 31-cent spread in Danville.

DeHaan says that nationally, the range in gasoline prices has widened over the past year.