By Mark Huffman
ConsumerAffairs.Com
August 20, 2010
After slowly edging up over the course of the summer, the price of
gasoline reversed course last week and dropped by five cents a
gallon.
The national average price of self-serve regular today is $2.724 a gallon compared with $2.77 a gallon last Friday, according to AAA. Prices are back to where they were about a month ago.
The price of diesel fuel is $2.979 a gallon, about two cents less than a week ago.
Gas prices softened in the last week as the price of crude oil continued a downward spiral, toward the $70 a barrel mark. Oil got cheaper as traders became more convinced that the economic recovery in the U.S. remained shaky. There was also evidence the global economy is cooling.
"China, who this week moved past Japan into the world's second largest economy, released data indicating that it may be headed for a slow down as the country's industrial output grew by the least amount in the last eleven months," said Andrew Delmege, AAA's manager of regulatory affairs. "Recent positive economic signs from China had provided some optimism that the country might be the engine to push the recovery forward."
Ample supplies
At the same time, oil and gasoline consumption appears to be leveling off, with stockpiles of both remaining plentiful in the U.S.
"Pending any drastic or immediate shift in crude supplies, this will likely continue to temper any large price increases in the near future," Delmege said.
Taking their cue from crude oil, gasoline prices have remained stable as oil has traded in a range between $70 and $80 a barrel. Oil prices have been unable to maintain upward momentum because of doubts about the global economic recovery.
The states with the most expensive gasoline today are:
Alaska ($3.544)
Hawaii ($3.491)
California ($3.153)
Washington ($3.114
Oregon ($3.022)
Idaho ($2.990)
Nevada ($2.951)
Utah ($2.925)
Montana ($2.903)
New York ($2.880)
The states with the least expensive gasoline today are:
South Carolina ($2.501)
Missouri ($2.502)
Mississippi ($2.548)
Tennessee ($2.560)
Alabama ($2.566)
New Jersey ($2.574)
Texas ($2.583)
Virginia ($2.584)
Georgia ($2.593)
Louisiana ($2.595)
