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Prices Still Steady as OPEC Threatens Production Cuts

By Joe Benton
ConsumerAffairs.com

November 5, 2006
Gasoline prices seem to be resisting OPEC threats of cuts in oil production but the cost of a gallon of regular gasoline has turned slightly up, breaking a long trend of price declines.

The average price for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline stands at $2.20, up a penny from earlier in the week according to AAA, of Hawthorne, Florida. The average price is 10 cents a gallon lower than a month ago, and 25 cents a gallon lower than a ago.

Midgrade gasoline is selling for an average of $2.34 a gallon, and premium fuel is selling for an average of $2.42 a gallon and those prices a both down 1 cent from three days ago.

The price of diesel fuel is holding at an average of $2.61 a gallon. The price is unchanged from three days ago.

The lowest price for a gallon of regular gasoline is still in Honea Path, South Carolina at $1.83 and the most expensive gallon is found in St. Thomas, Virgin Islands for $3.35.

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

Texas: After three straight months of drops, gas prices in many parts of the Lone Star State began heading up, according to the AAA Texas Weekend Gas Watch.

"Prices still dipped slightly in some areas, but motorists in Dallas, Fort Worth and Houston are all paying more at the pump than they were last week," said AAA Texas spokesperson Rose Rougeau.

"Nationwide, prices have also started rising in many areas. Oil industry analysts are saying that could be the result of OPEC's announcement last month that it is reducing crude oil production."

The current Texas statewide average price for self-serve regular gasoline is $2.09 a gallon, up less than a penny from last week and 30 cents less than last year.

Corpus Christi average gas prices continue to hover below $2 at $1.99 a gallon, a decrease of a little more than half a penny from last week.

The Austin-San Marcos area has the highest average on the survey at $2.16 a gallon -- down 1.6 cents from last week.

Gas prices in Lufkin dropped a couple of pennies per gallon from last week. The lowest-priced gas in Lufkin is now $2.03 a gallon.

An even greater drop is found in Nacogdoches as regular unleaded declined 7 cents to fall below the $2 a gallon mark at $1.99 a gallon.

This week's random spot check of 12 cities in the eastern one-third of Texas found nearly half had prices under the $2 a gallon mark while the rest ranged between $2 and $2.09 a gallon.

California: Gas prices have declined for the last 11 straight weeks in the Los Angeles area, and the averages in most areas of Southern California are more than $1, less than they were in May of this year, according to AAA of Southern California.

The average price of self-serve regular gasoline in the Los Angeles-Long Beach area is $2.40, which is 6.6 cents lower than last week, 31 cents lower than last month, and 36 cents lower than last year.

On the Central Coast, the average price is $2.69, down 5.2 cents from last week, 26 cents below last month, and 18 cents lower than last year.

In the Inland Empire, the average price is $2.39, down 4.1 cents from last week, 28 cents below last month, and 40 cents lower than last year.

Florida: Consumers in Florida hoping for the return of gas less than $2 per gallon are likely to be disappointed.

While economics in the state are pushing prices down, OPEC and tight supplies will likely put on the brakes before prices ever reach that magic number.

The only thing that would almost guarantee a return to the $2 range would be a precipitous slowdown in economic growth.

In Southwest Florida, the drop in gas prices has been stuck in neutral for the past week or so.

The average price for a gallon of regular gas in the Bradenton-Sarasota-Venice market is $2.22, 11 cents less than a month ago, AAA reported.

In Fort Myers-Cape Coral, the average is $2.26, down about 23 cents from a month ago.

Attentive consumers in Florida likely have observed the consistent drop in gas prices during the past three months -- dropping 80 times in the past 86 days but prices are much more likely to rise right now than fall, according to the Florida Petroleum Council.

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