Complain about a product or service

Gas Prices Continue Slow Decline

National average price for regular self-serve down to $2.76

By Joe Benton
ConsumerAffairs.com

August 17, 2007

• OPEC Unable to Stop Gas Prices' Slide • Give Thanks for Falling Gas Prices • Gas Prices Fall Below $2 a Gallon • Oil and Gas Supplies Rise • Gas Prices Accelerate Their Decline • Gasoline Prices Down 19 Cents in a Week • Charlotte Gas Stations Make Refunds to Consumers • Oil Snaps Back As Markets Sense Post-Election Bounce • Gas Prices Settle Still Lower for Weekend • Gasoline Prices Keep Falling • Gas Below $3 Nationwide • Average Gas Price Down to Nearly $3 a Gallon • Gas Prices Drop, Along With Oil • Gas Prices Head Lower as Economy Slows • Gas Price Declines for 9 Days • Gas Prices Continue Downward Trend • Oil Prices Surge By Record $25 a Barrel • Gas Prices Drop for 5 Days • Price-Gouging Probes Spread to 6 States • Investigations of $5 Gas in North Carolina, Florida, and Virginia • Shortages, Price Hikes Follow Ike in Southeast • States Investigate Gasoline Price Gouging Claims • Pumping More U.S. Oil Won't Lower Prices, Consumer Group Says • Oil Prices Fall, Gas Prices Surge • Gas Prices Slide 8 Percent from Record --- • More ...

Gasoline prices have continued a steady but slow decline, dropping to an average national price of $2.76 for a gallon of regular self serve.

Mid-grade gasoline averages $2.93 and premium sells for $3.04

One month ago a gallon of regular cost $3.03 and one year ago a gallon cost $2.98.

Average prices are now under $3 a gallon in all the 48 contiguous states and the District of Columbia. Regular self-serve gasoline sells for an average of $3.10 in Alaska and $3.24 in Hawaii, the highest statewide average in the country.

South Carolina enjoys the lowest statewide average gasoline price at $2.54 a gallon.

The most expensive gallon of regular gasoline in the country is found in Chicago, Illinois for $3.59. The cheapest gallon is on sale in Vinton, Virginia for $2.36.

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

Texas: Retail gasoline prices continued to plummet across the state this week.

Regular grade gasoline averaged $2.68 per gallon at self-serve pumps across the state, down 5 cents from last week, according to the AAA Texas gasoline price survey.

The cheapest gas in Texas was in Corpus Christi, where regular self-serve prices fell by an average of a nickel a gallon to $2.54. The state's most expensive gas remained in Amarillo, where it fell a nickel a gallon to $2.83.

"During the summer months, gas prices have dropped in nine of the past 11 weeks," said auto club spokesman Paul Flaningan. "Despite a two-week spike in July, state prices are at their lowest levels of the summer so far, although they are more than 60 cents higher than they were in February of this year."

California: Gasoline prices in California have dropped to the lowest level in more than five months according to the AAA of Northern California.

The average price for a gallon of regular gasoline in the San Jose metropolitan area is $2.95, down from $3.14 last year.

In Santa Cruz the average price is $3, but still down from $3.18 at this time last year.

Gas prices in Southern California continued to fall by more than a penny a day over the last week and in many local spots the prices are 30 to 40 cents lower than they were last year, as well as 60 to 70 cents lower than they were during May's record prices.

The average price of a gallon of self-serve regular gasoline in San Diego County dropped 8.2 cents over the past week to $2.89, the lowest since March 2.

The average is 24 cents less than last month and 36 cents less than at this time last year, according to the AAA Weekend Gas Watch survey of gas stations.

The average price has dropped 13 times in the past 14 weeks, including a 6.2-cent decline from August 3-10.

The average price of self-serve regular gasoline in the Los Angeles-Long Beach area is $2.86, which is 8.1 cents cheaper than last week, 26 cents below last month, and 37 cents under last year.

On the Central Coast, the average price is $3.09, down 7.7 cents from last week, 24 cents under last month, and 32 cents below last year.

In the Inland Empire, the average price is $2.85, 8 cents below last week, 26 cents under last month, and 42 cents cheaper than last year.

"We've had 30 consecutive days of falling prices," said Sean Comey, AAA spokesman. "But wholesale prices have dropped even further, so there may still be some room for improvement."

Michigan: Gas prices were up four cents overnight to $2.90 a gallon, despite an overall decline of a penny in the national average to $2.76, according to AAA of Heathrow, Florida.

The rise in Michigan pump prices appears to be mirroring similar jumps in the neighboring states of Ohio ($2.70), Indiana ($2.76) and Illinois ($2.92).

Stock market jitters, the threat of Hurricane Dean slamming into the Gulf of Mexico and a growing credit crunch are all conspiring to send petroleum prices higher.

At the same time, Michigan gas station owners have been raising their posted prices throughout the week in apparent anticipation of a storm in the Gulf Coast region knocking out significant petroleum production and refining capacity.

New Jersey: AAA has reported that New Jersey's average for a gallon of regular gas is America's second cheapest, standing at $2.61, 17 cents cheaper than the national average, according to the AAA Fuel Gauge Report.

The national average, at $2.76, is the least expensive nationwide average in four months.

Report Your Experience
If you've had a bad experience -- or a good one -- with a consumer product or service, we'd like to hear about it. All complaints are reviewed by class action attorneys and are considered for publication on our site. Knowledge is power! Help spread the word. File your consumer report now.

Back to the top |