By Joe Benton
ConsumerAffairs.com
October 28, 2005
In Edinburg, Texas gasoline has fallen below $2 a gallon and is selling for $1.95. That is the lowest price for a gallon of regular anywhere in the country since mid-summer.
Throughout the country, gasoline declined 26 cents in October and now sells for an average of $2.55. The average price of a gallon of gasoline has dropped 6 cents this week. One year ago, the average price for regular was $2.03.
Diesel fuel costs an average of $3.17. One month ago, the average price was $2.88 a gallon; one year ago it stood at $2.24 a gallon.
The highest priced regular unleaded gasoline is still found in Hawaii where a gallon sells for $3.29 in Kihei.
Heres a look at prices around the country.
California: Lower demand and increased imports from abroad have combined to send gasoline prices down this week with steeper declines expected in the coming weeks, according to the Automobile Club of Southern California's Weekend Gas Watch.
The average price of self-serve regular gasoline in the Los Angeles-Long Beach area is $2.829, which is 7.2 cents lower than last week, 10 cents lower than last month and 39 cents higher than last year.
In San Diego, the price is $2.851 -- 8.1 cents below last week's price, 12 cents below last month and 40 cents above last year.
On the Central Coast, the average price is $2.919, down 7.2 cents from last week, 9 cents lower than last month and 35 cents higher than last year.
In the Inland Empire, the average price is $2.851, down 6.3 cents from last week, 10 cents below last month and 40 cents higher than last year.
"Southern Californians have reduced their driving significantly in the past couple of months. Additionally across the nation, demand for gas is down 2 percent from this time last year," Auto Club spokeswoman Carol Thorp said.
Phoenix: Gasoline prices slipped nearly 10 cents this week, bringing Arizona's average price of self-serve regular unleaded to $2.70 per gallon.
Unlike gasoline, diesel prices have not fallen and remain unusually high. In Arizona diesel is selling for $3.16 a gallon and it is even higher in other states. According to AAA, this is due to a shift in the use of diesel-powered vehicles. As they increase in popularity, they are putting pressure on diesel supplies.
The least expensive gasoline is found in the East Valley at $2.69 per gallon, with the West Valley a penny behind at $2.70. The metro Phoenix area is in the $2.71-$2.72 range and Scottsdale is averaging $2.78.
Arkansas: Nearly two months after Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast, Arkansas average price for regular gasoline has returned to where it was before the storm.
After a very expensive two months, the average price has returned to its pre-Katrina level, according to a survey of area gas stations by AAA.
AAA reports that the states average for regular is now $2.516 a gallon, about 48 cents below the record set in early September.
Arkansans should see the price of gasoline continue to decline, according to AAA spokesman Michael Right.
It is very typical for gasoline prices to slump from Columbus Day through years end, and thats what I believe we are looking at, he said, adding that many markets will see gasoline at $2 to $2.50 a gallon in the next 8 weeks.
Pennsylvania: After a very expensive two months, the average price has returned to its pre-Katrina level, according to a survey of area gas stations by AAA.
Prices have dropped as low as $2.29 in some areas of the state.
Montana: The statewide average price of self-serve regular gasoline has dropped by more than 16 cents a gallon in the past month, according to AAA Montana.
But Montanans are still paying more for gasoline than the national average, and 65 cents more per gallon than they were paying a year ago.
The average price for regular gasoline in Montana is $2.67 per gallon, compared with $2.84 in September.
North Carolina: No one in local, state or federal government appears to be looking into why Charlotte has had some of the nation's highest gas prices since Hurricane Rita struck more than a month ago.
Seems folks around Charlotte will continue paying gas prices higher than more than 200 cities across the country, including Chicago, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Boston, Detroit and, lately, Washington.
The metro area's average price for regular on Wednesday, $2.75, was among the top 60 in the nation, according to data released by AAA on Thursday.
