Gas Around Champaign Dips Below $3 A Gallon

Gas prices around Champaign-Urbana have dipped to below 3 dollars a gallon. A petroleum analyst said it hasn't been that low since early 2011.

Patrick DeHaan with the website Gas Buddy.com attributes the drop of about 15 cents a gallon to a decline in oil prices, and high gasoline supply. 

DeHaan said a weekly report from the Energy Information Administration on petroleum markets could reveal a shockingly high demand, which may be due to many filling up their tanks with the lower prices.

He expects them to remain in the same range through the holiday season.

“We may not see them drift down a whole lot, but I don’t see any really big increases here either," he said.  "So it may be quiet.  Prices may tiptoe lower.  Prices have had a history of bottoming out between Thanksgiving and Christmas.  And to further note, in the last few years, prices have bottomed out right in the middle of December.”

Gas prices range from $2.96 to just over $3 gallon in the Champaign area. They’re a bit in higher in Decatur - listed at $3.09 at most locations. 

Prices in Danville are listed as low as $2.92 a gallon.