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Gas Price Slide Continues for Now

By Joe Benton
ConsumerAffairs.com

September 29, 2006
The Bush Administrations plans to speed up an alternative energy campaign during the remainder of the President's term and the President wants to eliminate the bottlenecks that are slowing the sale of ethanol as an alternative to gasoline, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Bush told the newspaper that he is seeking ways to overcome difficulties in transporting ethanol and to increase the number of stations selling the fuel.

In the meantime, gasoline prices declined throughout the country for the eighth straight week and are now averaging $2.33 a gallon for regular self-serve. While prices are still falling, they are dropping at a slower rate than in late summer and the price of a barrel of crude oil is climbing once again.

One month ago, regular unleaded sold for an average of $2.82 a gallon, 49 cents higher than the current average, according to AAA of Hawthorne, Florida.

One year ago regular unleaded sold for $2.82 as well.

Midgrade now sells for $2.48 a gallon and premium is averaging $2.57 a gallon.

Drivers in Kailua Kona, Hawaii, still pay most for gasoline at $3.31 a gallon for regular. In Harrisonburg, Virginia one station is selling gasoline for $1.83 a gallon. That is the lowest price in the country.

Here is a look at some gasoline prices from around the country in the weekly ConsumerAffairs.com Gas Price Round Up.

Florida: AAA is warning Floridians that even though gas prices in in the state are down 44.2 cents since August 27, they ought not to expect the trend to continue.

At the auto club, Randy Bly credits the primary reason for the lowering prices to a drop in crude oil from the summer peak price of $78 to $60 per barrel this week.

"Over the next several weeks, the nation's fuel inventory will likely be reduced as refineries devote more capacity to producing heating oil for the Northeast as well as winter blends of motor fuels," Bly said.

He also noted that while Floridians may have benefited from improved market fundamentals, favorable weather and an apparent reduction in the Middle Eastern conflict, "we cannot view the political, economic, weather and terrorist-related events that contribute to oil price volatility as nullified, nor can we expect that OPEC ministers will refrain indefinitely from altering current production levels, especially if crude prices continue to fall."

In Florida, the average price of self-serve regular currently is $2.43.

Texas: Gasoline prices are down for the eighth week in a row, according to AAA Texas and the price of gas dropped 63 cents per gallon in the past month.

The average price for regular self-serve gasoline is $2.21 per gallon, down 12 cents from last week.

The lowest average price for gasoline is in Corpus Christi, at $2.05 per gallon, according to AAA Texas.

The highest price in the weekly survey is El Paso, where gasoline averages $2.41 per gallon.

"The large drop in the price of crude oil, from a high of $78 a barrel earlier this year to $62 this week, is the main factor behind the falling price of gasoline," said AAA Texas spokeswoman Rose Rougeau.

The prospects for oil prices to move lower for a sustained period are uncertain, she said.

California: Gas price averages for every Southern California metropolitan area have now dipped below $3 a gallon, as sizable decreases continue at the pump for the sixth straight week, according to the Automobile Club of Southern California's Weekend Gas Watch.

The average price of self-serve regular gasoline in the Los Angeles-Long Beach area is $2.75, which is 10.7 cents lower than last week, 40 cents lower than last month and 17 cents lower than last year.

In San Diego, the price is $2.67, 12.3 cents below last week's price, 47 cents below last month and 29 cents below last year.

On the Central Coast, the average price is $2.99, down 8.5 cents from last week, 35 cents below last month and two cents lower than last year.

In the Inland Empire, the average price is $2.72, down 11.6 cents from last week, 45 cents below last month and 23 cents lower than last year.

"Wholesale gasoline prices are no longer plummeting because crude oil prices have stopped dropping for now," said Auto Club spokesperson Carol Thorp. "But pump prices continue to head down by at least a penny a day on average in Southern California."

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