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Gas Price Holds Above $3

Canadian pipelines back on line, easing fears of a major price spike

By Joe Benton
ConsumerAffairs.com

November 30, 2007    Spanish

• Gas Prices Trickle Down • Why Are Oil Prices Falling? • Labor Day Gas Prices Up a Penny • Gas Prices Fall for 37 Days • Gas Prices Slide 8 Percent from Record • Gas Prices Creep Down • Oil Price Trend May Be Good News For Consumers • Gasoline Drops Below $3.90 a Gallon • Gas Prices Pull Back Slowly • Oil Prices Fall As Storm Misses Rigs • Latest Gas Price Round-Up • 'Run Your Car On Water' Scheme Could Leave Consumers All Wet • Unregulated Energy Trading Blamed for Much of Gas Price Gusher • Airlines Join Effort To Limit Oil Speculators • Questions Raised about MyGallons.com • 'Hypermiling' Is Dangerous, Says AAA • Struggling Drivers Blame Washington for High Gas Prices • What’s Really Fueling Those Sky-High Oil Prices • Credit Card Fees at the Pump are a 'Hidden Tax' on Consumers • Survey: 3 Out of 4 Angry About High Gas Prices • $2 A Gallon Gas Possible, Analysts Tell Congress • Speculators Buy More Oil Contracts Than Oil Companies • Saudis to Pump More Oil • Limiting Oil Speculators Gains Ground • Congress To Probe Oil Price Spike • Oil Market 'Saturated,' Iran Claims • Feds See No Relief from High Gas Prices • High Gas Prices Could Mean Lower Insurance Rates • High Gas Prices Good For Kia, Honda • Gas Prices Rip Past $4 and Keep Climbing • Administration, OPEC See Different Causes Of Oil Surge • Feds Probing Possible Oil Market Manipulation • Beware of Fuel Sippers Sipping High-Test • Retailers Respond to High Gas Prices with Discounts, Promotions • Rushing Into a Smaller Car Too Soon May Not Save Money • Hybrid Sales and Prices Climb in Lockstep with Gas Prices • Truckers Bemoan Burden of High Diesel Costs • Gas Prices Biting into Worker Productivity • Consumers Warned About Gas-Saving Schemes • Is Tony Soprano Controlling Gas Prices? • Oil & Gas: The New Bubble • Critics: New Federal Gas Mileage Standard Falls Short • Consumers Feeling Pain of Skyrocketing Gas Prices • New Gas Price Record Forecasts Expensive Summer Driving Season --- • More ...

Regular gasoline is now selling above the $3 mark in 38 states and the District of Columbia with average national price of a gallon of regular gasoline sitting at $3.09, as crude oil prices sank back below the $90-a-barrel mark.

The price of oil surged more than $4 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange Thursday after a pipeline explosion in Canada but prices fell Friday to below $90.

That's good news for motorists, most of whom now pay more than $3 a gallon for gasoline. While prices at the pump had started to edge down this week, Wednesday’s explosion shutting down four Canadian pipelines threatened to end the relief in a hurry.

Two of the pipelines, which supply U.S. refiners with about 15 percent of their imported crude oil, were closed by the explosion, creating fears of an immediate supply crimp on refinery operations. As a result, the price of a barrel of crude oil jumped to $95.17 on the New York Mercantile Exchange Thursday, almost 50 percent higher than it was at this time last year.

But by late Thursday, workers were able to get those pipelines back on line. Energy analysts said the interruption was not significant and should not impact operations.

Around the country, mid-grade gasoline is selling for an average of $3.28 a gallon and premium sells for $3.42. Ethanol based E85 sells for $2.48 a gallon. When the price of E85 is adjusted to reflect the lower energy content of the fuel, the price is estimated to be $3.26 a gallon.

One month ago a gallon of regular gasoline sold for an average price of $2.90 and one year ago a gallon of regular sold for $3.40.

Hawaii suffers from the highest average gasoline prices in the country at $3.43 followed closely by California at $3.40.

South Carolina and New Jersey each have a statewide average gasoline price of $2.94, the lowest in the country.

The most expensive gallon of gasoline is found in the Bronx, New York for $3.79. The cheapest gallon is on sale in Washington, Missouri for $2.69.

Here is a look at what is happening as gas pumps around the country in the ConsumerAffairs.com Gas Price Round Up.

California: Gas prices inched down slightly and posted a weekly decline in most areas for the first time in nearly three months, according to the Automobile Club of Southern California's Weekend Gas Watch.

The average price of self-serve regular gasoline in the Los Angeles-LongBeach area is $3.38, which is 1.9 cents lower than last week, 25 cents above last month, and 89 cents more than last year.

In San Diego, the price is $3.41, which is 0.7 cents less than last week's price, 23 cents up from last month, and 86 cents higher than last year.

On the Central Coast, the average price is $3.47, down 2.3 cents from last week, 22 cents above last month, and 76 cents more than last year.

In the Inland Empire, the average price is $3.37, 2.5 cents under last week, 25 cents above last month, and 88 cents higher than last year.

"While gas price averages are lower than they were this time last week,there hasn't been a steady daily decline in most Southern California areas, so it's too early to say if this downward trend will continue," said Auto Club spokesperson Carol Thorp. "The Southland came within 10 cents of breaking all-time record prices that we saw in May."

In Northern California, San Francisco drivers face an average gasoline price of $3.55 followed by people Oakland and San Jose at $3.47 a gallon. Regular gasoline sells for $3.37 a gallon in Sacramento.

The highest price in California is $3.89 for a gallon of gas in Mineral, a hamlet of about 143 people in Tehama County. The lowest average gas price in California is in Chico at $3.34.

Texas: Texas gas prices held steady this week as the average price for a gallon of regular gasoline stands four cents shy of the $3 mark. The statewide average remained at $2.96 a gallon this week, according to the AAA Texas Weekend Gas Watch.

"While gas prices have remained stable the week after the Thanksgiving holiday, the current weekly average is still 84 cents more than at this same time last year," said AAA Texas spokesperson Paul Flaningan. Galveston replaces Houston with the lowest average at $2.90 a gallon. Amarillo still has the highest average at $3.03 a gallon, which is seven cents higher than the state average.

Long Island: Gasoline prices rose again during the week but the increase was small. Regular gasoline averaged $3.28 on Long Island up 2.1 cents from a week earlier. That is 6.4 cents shy of the local record in that survey, $3.35, set September 11, 2005, following Hurricane Katrina.

Florida: The average price of a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline in Florida is $3.15 according to the AAA auto club. AAA predicted gas prices would dip in time for Thanksgiving. They did, but only by a fraction of a cent, and prices not expected to drop at all this week.

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