NICK GOSNELL
Hutch Post
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — Gas prices are still heading in downward direction in the Sunflower State.
"We're really seeing some fairly seasonal trends in terms of gas prices," said Shawn Steward with AAA Kansas. "They've been declining for a while now, and Kansas is well below $3 a gallon at $2.81 a gallon today. It was down $0.02 in the past week and down $0.09 from where we were a month ago. Kansas is currently sixth lowest average gas price in the nation among 18 states that currently have a sub $3 average gas price. If you're filling up your tank, it's not too bad right now."
Area county average prices are on both sides of the state average.
Reno $2.62 (lowest in the state)
McPherson $2.72
Harvey $2.71
Sedgwick $2.87
Kingman $2.93
Pratt $2.94
Stafford $2.93
Rice $2.91
"Crude oil prices have been relatively stable," Steward said. "It looks like they've risen a little bit on the global market in the past week or so, but that hasn't impacted prices we've seen at the pump yet. Demand is seasonally fairly modest and to down, and so those trends are driving prices lower at the pumps."
The direction of overall energy policy will likely be different, depending on who wins the U.S. presidential election.
"The presidential election will certainly play a role in energy policy going forward," Steward said. "That's certainly something that can impact crude oil and gasoline production and prices, so, definitely something that everybody is watching right now."
To find out the latest prices for your next trip, go to gasprices.aaa.com.