Retail gasoline prices in Central Massachusetts fell another five cents per gallon, on average, over the last week while the nationwide mean surged 8.5 cents, largely due to a price spike in the Midwest after an unexpected emergency shutdown of a refinery, according to gasoline price website GasBuddy.com.
The average price in the Worcester area last week was $2.50 per gallon, based on GasBuddy’s daily survey of 263 gas outlets in the city. The national average last week was $2.68.
Including last week’s drop, prices as of Sunday were 96.8 cents per gallon lower than the same day one year ago, and are 20.3 cents lower than a month ago. Meanwhile, the national average has decreased 9 cents per gallon during the last month and stands 77.5 cents lower than this day in 2014.
The shutdown of a refinery in Indiana impacted prices in several Midwestern states, with prices rising by more than 50 cents a gallon within days in Michigan, Indiana and Illinois. Lower increases were seen in Ohio, Wisconsin and Kentucky, Minnesota, Oklahoma, Missouri, Kansas and Iowa, according to GasBuddy.
