Northern Illinois University student Don Cagle gave a thumbs up as he filled his gas tank Friday afternoon at the Road Ranger gas station on Sycamore Road in DeKalb.
After filling his tank with unleaded gasoline that cost just $2.99 a gallon, he was headed home to Lombard.
“I can barely get home,” he said, because the recent high costs for motor fuel have been pinching his wallet. “Now, I can.”
Gas prices dipped below $3 for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline Friday at some DeKalb County stations. DeKalb city’s average as of Friday afternoon was $3.04 per gallon, down 37 cents from last week and down $1.10 from last month, according to auto club AAA Chicago and Oil Price Information Service Web sites.
The national average is expected to drop below $3 this weekend, a figure not seen since mid-February, according to The Associated Press.
Motorists filling up for a weekend getaway said they were relieved — even if the drop was only temporary.
“It’s wonderful,” Sycamore resident Judy Bergeson said as she filled her tank at the Clark Gas Station on DeKalb Avenue in Sycamore. High gas prices have resulted in less travel for her family, she said. Her husband even bought a scooter and uses it as often as he can.
Fuel sales at the Clark Gas Station have been high all week as prices continued to decline, employee Danish Sheikh said.
“People are happy. It’s a good feeling,” he said.
Gas is still much higher than a year ago, when a gallon of unleaded was $2.88 on average in DeKalb.
Gas prices have been declining recently for two main reasons, AAA Chicago spokeswoman Nicole Niemi said.
As the stock market continues to fluctuate, a lot of the commodities are falling, she said. A barrel of crude oil was about $72 Friday — half as much as the record high of $147.27 on July 11.
But a second reason is that ramifications of the hurricanes earlier this year are being smoothed over. Damage to refineries in the hurricane-prone Gulf of Mexico can decrease the supply for the entire country.
It’s unknown how long consumers can continue to expect relief at the pump.
“It’s really difficult to predict,” Niemi said. “If oil prices continue to fall, gas prices continue to fall.”
However, hurricane season continues for at least another month. Niemi said they’re keeping an eye on weather patterns in the lower Atlantic.
As consumers breathe a sigh of relief, they will continue holding their breath.
“It won’t last,” predicted Dale Jahns of Esmond as he filled his tank at the Clark Gas Station. “They’re just teasing us.”
