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Gas Prices Tick Up a Penny or So as Oil Plunges

By Joe Benton
ConsumerAffairs.com

November 17, 2006
Gasoline prices have remained virtually unchanged for the week, rising just a penny for regular gasoline and two cents for midgrade and premium.

Plunging crude oil prices suggest more price declines may be ahead as warmer than usual autumn weather continues and skepticism that the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Counties will cut daily production abounds.

Regular unleaded gasoline is selling for an average of $2.23 a gallon, according to AAA, of Heathrow, Florida. Last week the average price was $2.22.

Midgrade gasoline sells at $2.37 a gallon and premium gasoline is sells for $2.46 a gallon.

Forecasts for more mild weather through November overshadowed OPEC's threat to cut production as crude oil is trading at $55.39 a barrel, down $4 for the week.

The cheapest gallon of regular gasoline is still found in Verona, Virginia for $1.89 and the most expensive gallon is on sale in Kailua Kona, Hawaii for $2.99.

Texas: Retail gasoline prices edged higher statewide this week after two weeks of mixed trends. The weekly AAA Texas gasoline price survey released today showed retail prices statewide averaging $2.11 per gallon, up about 3 cents from last week.

"Anticipated demand for gasoline during the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday travel period may be pulling prices somewhat higher," said AAA Texas spokeswoman Rose Rougeau. "We expect to see a 2.6 percent increase in the number of people driving to their destination compared to the 30.8 million who drove last year.

"Unlike summer travel, Thanksgiving is a time for Americans to visit their families, which means there is an emotional reason to travel and higher gas prices, long lines and traffic will not dissuade them," she said.

The biggest price increase was found in the Galveston-Texas City area, where the average rose almost 4 cents to $2.06 per gallon. The most expensive gas prices were found in the Austin-San Marcos area, where they rose almost 2 cents to $2.17 per gallon.

The cheapest gas prices in the survey were found in the Corpus Christi area, where they rose 3 cents this week to $2.03 per gallon.

California: Low inventories at California refineries have caused gas prices to increase for the second straight week, according to the Automobile Club of Southern California.

The average price of self-serve regular gasoline in the Los Angeles-Long Beach area is $2.46, which is 4.2 cents higher than last week, ten cents lower than last month, and 13 cents lower than last year.

On the Central Coast, the average price is $2.71, up 3.6 cents from last week, 12 cents below last month, and two cents higher than last year.

In the Inland Empire, the average price is $2.47, up 5.8 cents from last week, five cents below last month, and 14 cents lower than last year.

Seasonal maintenance at California refineries have stopped them from operating at full capacity, according to the Auto Club. Before the two weeks of price increases, Southern California had seen declining prices for 11 straight weeks.

Michigan: Michigan gasoline prices should come down this weekend after crude oil hit a 17-month low in trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Prices fell because of lower consumption, warmer-than-anticipated weather in the Northeast and suggestions that the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries will not cut back oil production by more than 1 million barrels, as it pledged to do earlier this month.

Michigan gas prices average $2.27 a gallon, according to AAA Michigan in Dearborn. But with oil prices down more than 6 percent for the week and signs that they could continue to drop, Michigan pump price are expected to follow suit over the weekend.

Florida: Projections show more than 2.5 million Floridians will to travel over Thanksgiving. According to AAA South, more than 2.1 million plan to go more than 50 miles by car and 320,000 plan their journey to be by plane. Gasoline prices are down as much as 20 cents a gallon from a year ago and aren't much of a factor in determining travel over the holidays, AAA said.

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