Wichita gas prices dip below $3

Wichita drivers had one more reason to celebrate on Friday: Gas prices at a number of places dropped below $3.

In addition to a Royals baseball win, a big U.S. economic development grant to Wichita State and making it to the end of the work week, Wichitans could take pleasure in knowing it would cost less to fill up their tanks.

It’s not just Wichita enjoying the cheaper gasoline prices. According to the auto club AAA, Americans are paying lower prices of gasoline now than at any time since September 2010.

That means they will have more to spend on other things, said Avery Ash, AAA spokesman.

“It is a nice relief for most of us to pay a little less than in recent years to fill up at the gas station,” Ash said in a statement on the organization’s website.

A number of factors are helping push gas prices lower. Those include a huge boom in oil and gas production in the United States and Canada, as well as a struggling global economy that has kept a lid on demand for gasoline and other fuels.

And the AAA points out that “consumers caught a break in September with no Atlantic hurricanes striking the U.S. coastline. September is the peak period for the Atlantic hurricane season, and hurricanes can cause gas prices to rise significantly by disrupting refineries, pipelines and oil production.”

According to the online site GasBuddy.com, a number of stations in Wichita, including some QuikTrips, Dillons and Sam’s Club locations, had prices of $2.99 or lower Friday afternoon.

This story was originally published October 3, 2014 at 2:28 PM with the headline "Wichita gas prices dip below $3."