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Gas Price Declines for 9 Days

Gulf recovers from Hurricane Ike; Shortages persist in South

By Joe Benton and Mark Huffman
ConsumerAffairs.com

September 26, 2008

Gasoline prices throughout most of the country have dropped for 9 consecutive, declining almost 17 cents, according to the AAA Fuel Gauge report.

The average price of unleaded regular gasoline is now $3.683 a gallon, 43 cents less than the record high price of $4.114 a gallon set July 17.

That's just three cents above the average from earlier this month, just before Hurricane Ike stormed ashore along the Texas Gulf Coast.

While prices have declined 10 percent from the record, they remain 87 cents or 31 percent higher than one year ago when regular gasoline sold for $2.81 a gallon.

Two states continue to report gas prices above $4 a gallon, Alaska and Hawaii. Regular gasoline sells for $4.277 a gallon in Alaska and $4.275 in Hawaii.

Consumers in Oklahoma enjoy the lowest gasoline prices in the country with an average of $3.389 a gallon throughout the state, according to the AAA Web site.

Even before the storm made landfall, gas stations around the county hiked prices in anticipation of sharply higher costs from wholesalers, caused by lengthy supply disruptions. While there were supply disruption, they weren't lengthy, since oil rigs and refineries in the storm's path escaped major damage.

But wide areas of the southern U.S. are still experiencing an acute gasoline shortage. It's so bad in Georgia that there is some concern that motorists who are able to make it to their weekend destinations might not be able to get home again.

Tex Pitfield, CEO of Saraguay Petroleum in Atlanta, told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that he has appealed to Georgia's governor to cancel Saturday's University of Georgia home game against rival Alabama.

The shortages stem from the temporary supply disruptions caused by the storm, but industry officials say the situation is slowly improving. Some blame lingering supply problems on concerned motorists who keep topping off their tanks, out of fear of running out of gas.

The outlook for gasoline prices could be a continued decrease, judging from the price of oil. Expectations of reduced demand, due to a global economic slowdown, has exerted downward pressure on oil prices in recent days. Even though prices spiked up early in the week over concerns about the U.S. credit crises, oil traded $2.50 lower Friday, at $105.52.

Gas price roundup

Here are some gasoline prices from around the country in the ConsumerAffairs.com Gas Price Roundup.

California: Drivers in California have seen the average gasoline price in the state drop for 14 weeks in a row, the longest stretch of gas price declines since the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

"California gas prices right now are below the price averages in 20 other states," said Jeffrey Spring, a spokesman for the Automobile Club of Southern California.

The average price of self-serve regular gasoline in the Los Angeles area is $3.656 a gallon, which is 8.8 cents less than last week.

In San Diego, the price is $3.657, which is 8.7 cents under last week's price.

The highest average gasoline prices in the state are still found in San Francisco at $3.890 a gallon.

The lowest price in California is found in Chico north of Sacramento at $3.23 a gallon.

Texas: Gasoline prices in Texas dropped by more than a dime this week as the state continues to recover from Hurricane Ike.

AAA Texas reported the average price for a gallon in the state is now $3.59, down 11 cents from one week ago.

AAA spokeswoman Sarah Schimmer said Ike and related supply issues caused a temporary spike in gasoline prices "that is now reversing itself."

AAA Texas said the cheapest gasoline was found this week in Amarillo, at $3.39 per gallon.

Texarkana had the highest cost at the pump, at $3.68 per gallon.

Florida: Gasoline prices throughout Florida, Georgia and Tennessee remained high but likely will decrease this week.

AAA reported that gasoline supplies are still stretched thin in some areas but should improve soon.

In Florida, the price for self-serve regular currently is averaging $3.73.8 a gallon.

State investigators in Florida are examining 3,066 gasoline price-gouging complaints, the state attorney general reported.

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