Gas Prices Sink As Oil Prices Rise

Rarely do you see a week in which oil prices jump and gasoline prices drop, but this has been just such a week.

While the price of West Texas oil traded above $100 a barrel at times this week, the prices of gasoline dropped in nearly every state.

The national average price of self-serve regular today is $3.384 per gallon, down from $3.438 last Friday, according to AAA's Fuel Gauge Survey. That's nine cents a gallon less than what motorists were paying a month ago.

The price of diesel fuel, however, continues to go up. The average price of diesel fuel today is $3.996 per gallon, up from $3.932 a week ago.

Gas prices had been creeping higher in the previous weeks as crude oil prices began to regain strength. But this week prices at the pump began moving in the opposite direction. One reason may be that consumers continue to buy less gasoline.

“Since the beginning of October crude oil prices have risen from $75.67 to 98.99 per barrel — an increase of more than 30 percent,” said Avery Ash, AAA's manager of Federal Relations. “During this same period, as gasoline demand has remained sluggish due to high prices and a weak economy, the price at the pump has been relatively unchanged albeit at a price more than 50 cents higher than this time last year.”

However, with refiners paying more for crude oil, motorists can expect to be paying more for gasoline by the end of the year.

The states with the most expensive gas this week are:

• Hawaii ($4.147)
• Alaska ($4.030)
• California ($3.791)
• Washington ($3.726)
• Oregon ($3.678)
• Connecticut ($3.672)
• New York ($3.665)
• Nevada ($3.569)
• Montana ($3.540)
• Illinois ($3.504)

The states with the least expensive gas this week are:

• Missouri ($3.129)
• New Mexico ($3.151)
• South Carolina ($3.177)
• Texas ($3.210)
• Mississippi ($3.210)
• Tennessee ($3.213)
• Oklahoma ($3.218)
• Alabama ($3.224)
• Arkansas ($3.224)
• Louisiana ($3.226)