The average price for a gallon of regular gasoline in New Jersey is at $2.24, up from a penny a week ago and a bit more expensive than the national average of $2.16 a gallon.

AAA Northeast spokesman Robert Sinclair Jr. said gasoline in New Jersey is a nickel higher than last month but 32 cents cheaper than a year ago. He said while things are a little bit higher compared to just a month ago, New Jerseyans are enjoying a sizeable discount than they did this time last year.

New Jersyeans may be wondering about 9.3 cent a gallon tax hike that took effect Oct. 1. Sinclair said the tax is definitely there but because the base price of gasoline has been so cheap recently, the state is only seeing the 5-cent increase compared to last month.

Gas demand is lower than last year because of people driving less due to the pandemic. He said people also drive less in the autumn months and those who are driving are using a cheaper blend of gasoline.

The Energy Information Administration said gas demand last week compared to the week before nationwide fell 13 million gallons. Everyone is burning a lot less gasoline, which is keeping the price of gas lower.

Sinclair believes the price of gas will trend lower heading into the winter months. With the resurgence of the coronavirus, there's most likely going to be less driving and people won't have many places to go. That, in itself, will keep demand down.

He also said that many Louisiana refineries knocked offline by Hurricane Laura are starting to come back on, which means more gasoline will be produced. More gas with less demand means gas prices will trend lower.

Right now in New Jersey, the cheapest gasoline can be found in Bergen and Passaic counties at an average of $2.19 a gallon. Cape May has the most expensive gas at $2.33 a gallon.

New York is the same as Jersey with the average price of a regular gallon of gasoline at $2.24. Pennsylvania is at a whopping $2.48 a gallon and Connecticut has the cheapest gas among the neighboring states at $2.17 a gallon.

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