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Have Gasoline Prices Reached Their Low?

Prices are up less than a penny a gallon in seven days

By Mark Huffman
ConsumerAffairs.com

October 9, 2009
The national average price of gasoline appears to have stopped falling, averaging $2.471 per gallon today for self serve regular, according to AAA. A week ago, the average was $2.465 a gallon, less than a penny lower.

The national average price of diesel fuel is $2.625 a gallon, right where it was seven days ago.

The best buy on gasoline this week is in Missouri, where the price averages $2.236 a gallon today. It's followed closely by South Carolina, with a state-wide average price of $2.238 a gallon.

The most expensive gas is still found in Alaska, where the average price is $3.393 a gallon.

The average prices remains above $3 a gallon in California, where the state-wide average today is $3.046 a gallon. The average ranges from a high in San Francisco of $3.185 to a low of $2.942 in Stockton. Those prices are little changed over the last seven days.

Andrew Delmege, AAA's manager of regulatory affairs, says gasoline prices have been remarkably stable, mainly because of stability in the oil market.

"Oil prices have remained in a $65-$75 price range for ten consecutive weeks now, a rare occurrence for a commodity often marked by price volatility," he said. "Considering market prices began the year in the low $30 range after a free fall from highs near $150 per barrel in 2008, the relative stability of prices is indeed noteworthy."

In other words, through the bulk of the hurricane season and amidst geopolitical events and ongoing international economic upheaval, market prices have consistently stayed within a $10 range for 10 weeks in a row. The stability of market oil prices has meant retail gasoline prices have been comparatively calm over the past two and a half months as well.

Adding to the stability in the market has been near record stockpiles of petroleum products in the U.S. However, the U.S. Energy Information Administration reports U.S. crude oil inventories fell unexpectedly last week on stronger refiner demand and lower imports.

Crude oil stocks fell 1 million barrels to 337.4 million barrels in the week to October 2. But supplies of gasoline increased 2.9 million barrels to 214.4 million barrels. Those figures point to continued stability in supply and demand.

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