By Mark Huffman
ConsumerAffairs.com
September 4, 2009
Motorists planning a last outing of the summer this weekend will
find gasoline prices well below their highs of the summer and more
than $1 a gallon lower than last Labor Day Weekend.
The national average of self-service regular today is $2.591 a gallon, about two cents a gallon cheaper than last Friday, according to AAA. The average price of diesel fuel is $2.689 a gallon, little changed over the last week.
Prices dipped late this week after crude oil prices fell from their high of $75 a barrel last week, to below $70. However, U.S. government statistics this week showed a sharp increase in gasoline demand in the last week, causing oil prices to rally a bit.
The national average gasoline price peaked in early June at around $2.70 a gallon, and over the course of the summer, has shown remarkable stability.
"It is important to note that despite a summer spotted with few hurricanes and the occasional release of mildly positive economic data, oil and gasoline prices have more or less been treading water for the past several weeks," said Andrew Delmege, AAA's manager of regulatory affairs. "In previous editions of this report, such stability in prices has been attributed to a lack of clear evidence a robust economic recovery is on the horizon."
This weekend, as has been the case all summer, motorists in the West will pay the highest prices for gas, while those driving through the southeast will tend to pay the least.
The most expensive gas today is found in Hawaii, Alaska and California - the three states where the average price exceeds $3 a gallon. Drivers in Hawaii are paying $3.318 a gallon while those in Alaska are paying $3.328.
In California, the statewide average price of gas is $3.058 a gallon. The most expensive area to buy gas in California is the San Francisco metro, where the price averages $3.155 a gallon. The least expensive region for a fill-up is the Yuba City metro, where the price averages $2.981 a gallon.
Missouri boasts the nation's lowest gas prices, with a statewide average today of $2.338 a gallon. South Carolina, the leader in that department for much of the summer, is next with an average price of $2.35 a gallon.
