Retail Gasoline Price Lowest Since April: Govt

By Tom Doggett

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The average price U.S. drivers paid for gasoline fell to the lowest level in more than four months, the government said on Monday, and more savings could be on the way as Tropical Storm Ernesto becomes less of a threat to oil producing areas in the Gulf of Mexico.

The national price for regular unleaded gasoline dropped 7.9 cents over the last week to $2.85 a gallon, according to the federal Energy Information Administration’s weekly survey of 800 service stations.

That’s the lowest level since April 17, but still up 24 cents from a year ago, the Energy Department’s analytical arm said. Pump prices have fallen 15.5 cents in the last two weeks, the EIA said.

The much larger Lundberg survey of 7,000 stations showed the average price for self-serve, regular unleaded gasoline fell 15.4 cents in the last two weeks to $2.87 a gallon.

Even though gasoline demand is up from a year ago, the sharp drop in pump costs reflects declining crude prices and above average motor fuel inventories.

Crude oil fell more than $2 a barrel on Monday at the New York Mercantile Exchange on news that Tropical Storm Ernesto was forecast to stay away from oil wells in the Gulf.

The lower crude prices, which account for more than half the cost of making gasoline, should be passed on to consumers at the pump.

Gasoline prices are also expected to keep falling over the next few weeks as gasoline demand eases after the summer driving vacation season.

In the EIA’s new weekly survey, West Coast service stations had the most expensive gasoline by region, with the price down 5.7 cents to $3.04 a gallon. Los Angeles again had the highest pump price among cities at $3.13 a gallon, down 6.5 cents.

The cheapest gasoline was found on the Gulf Coast at $2.74 a gallon, down 8.3 cents. Cleveland had the best pump price at $2.63, down 13 cents.

The EIA also reported that prices were down 7.3 cents in Chicago at $3.08, down 7.4 cents in San Francisco at $3.05, down 6.8 cents in Miami at $2.98, down 4.2 cents in Seattle at $2.95, down 3.8 cents in Denver at $2.95, down 8.3 cents in New York City at $2.93 and down 7.5 cents in Boston at $2.89.

Separately, the agency said the price truckers paid for diesel fuel fell 0.6 cent in the week to $3.03 a gallon, up 44 cents from a year ago.

The Rocky Mountain region again had the most expensive diesel at an average $3.35 a gallon, down 0.3 cent. The lower Atlantic states had the cheapest diesel at $2.90, up 0.7 cent.