Gas Prices Dip Slightly In Last Week

The price of gasoline stopped its recent rebound this week, but the respite at the gas pump may not last. Oil prices have surged in the last day or so on the growing belief the economy will avoid a double-dip recession.

The national average price of self-serve regular today is $3.448 per gallon, down from $3.468 last Friday, according to AAA's Fuel Gauge Survey. That's about two cents a gallon less than consumers were paying a month ago.

The average price of diesel fuel today is $3.862 per gallon, up from $3.846 a week ago.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration's weekly report shows U.S stockpiles of crude oil rose sharply during the week, while gasoline supplies declined. However, supply and demand may be less important to gas prices in the short term than a burst of positive economic news.

Could good news be bad news?

The U.S. government reported this week that the U.S. economy grew at a surprising 2.5 percent rate in the third quarter of the year. This, when many economists were on record predicting the economy would fall into a double dip recession.

Even the situation in Europe looked less dire after an eleventh hour agreement to rescue Greece. As a result, oil prices soared on world markets Thursday amid the believe that the global economy would once again grow, not shrink. A growing economy will demand more oil, the reasoning goes, so motorists should not expect gas prices to fall any more for a while.

The states with the most expensive gas this week are:

• Hawaii ($4.189)
• Alaska ($4.028)
• California ($3.839)
• Washington ($3.819)
• Oregon ($3.781)
• New York ($3.706)
• Connecticut ($3.709)
• Nevada ($3.613)
• Idaho ($3.614)
• Montana ($3.581)

The states with the least expensive gas this week are:

• Missouri ($3.207)
• South Carolina ($3.235)
• New Mexico ($3.269)
• Texas ($3.285)
• Tennessee ($3.286)
• Mississippi ($3.293)
• Alabama ($3.306)
• Louisiana ($3.310)
• Oklahoma ($3.311)
• Virginia ($3.321)