HARTFORD, Conn. — The rise of gas prices is a big topic of conversation. But what is the historical context for what we are currently paying at the pump?
We looked back at several different databases to see what we paid in the past.
Let's start with the recent past. In 2019, gas prices in the state were just under $3 / gallon, according to GasBuddy.com.
During the early days of the pandemic, gas prices dropped dramatically. Basic economic principles dictate that with reduced demand, the price goes down. With people staying off the roads, prices were around $1.85/gallon in Connecticut and even lower in the Hartford area.
Over time, gas prices gradually increased. By late 2021, market forces, increased demand, worldwide oil production cutbacks combined to push up the price faster. As of early March, gas prices in the Hartford area were approaching $3.80 / gallon.
But, a closer look at prices showed a wide disparity, from as low as $3.39 / gallon in Winsted to $3.99 / gallon in Brookfield. Within Manchester alone, prices range 30 cents per gallon within a few hundred feet on Spencer Street near Exit 1 on Interstate 384.
However, the prices we see today aren't the highest we've seen historically. Prices in 2012 rose over $4.00 / gallon in the state. There was some fluctuation but prices stayed between $3.50 / gallon and $4 / gallon until a drastic drop in 2014, when the went down to around $2.25 / gallon for drivers. Prices dropped under $2 / gallon in early 2015.
Looking back even farther to the summer of 1990, data from the U.S. Energy Information Agency, shows national average gas prices staying fairly even through the decade at around $1.15 / gallon. Starting in 2000, there was a steady increase to a high of $4.11 / gallon in the summer of 2008. With the economic collapse that fall however, prices dropped to $1.63 / gallon by early 2009.
The Federal government adds 18 cents per gallon for gas, according to IGEN. A state report in January 2021 said according to the American Petroleum Institute, total state taxes on motor fuel in Connecticut equal 35.75 cents per gallon of gasoline and 44.6 cents per gallon of diesel, making it the 15th highest among all states for gasoline and ninth for diesel as of July 1, 2020.
Chris Higginbotham, a spokesperson for EIA, told the Verify Team the demand for gasoline and other petroleum products, such as diesel and jet fuel, has increased rapidly from 2020 lows. Consumption of these products has consistently exceeded production, which increases the amount of oil that producers have to draw from storage.
“So you have higher demand for products that come from oil and you have lower oil production, which leads to lower inventories. That dynamic has been putting pressure on prices to go up,” he wrote.
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Doug Stewart is a digital content producer at FOX61 News. He can be reached at dstewart@fox61.com.
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