Post Holiday Average Gasoline Prices Moving Downward

(SALEM) - While the national average price for a gallon of regular gasoline remained flat during the Memorial Day weekend, prices in Oregon and its four measured metropolitan areas hit record highs. Salem`s average price for a gallon of gas is $3.07. Portland`s $3.09 trails the capitol city price and Eugene/Springfield residents are paying an average of $3.15.

The current national average stands at $2.85, more than a penny a gallon less than a week ago.

Oregon's statewide average price is up nine-tenths of a cent since last week to $3.11 per gallon. The Oregon and metropolitan area average prices climbed to new highs during the weekend, but by the end of Monday, they backed off by as much as a cent and a half per gallon in the Medford/Ashland region; Portland's average held steady at $3.10. "Now that we made it through the first big driving holiday of the summer, we should get a better idea of what to expect in coming months, depending, of course, on how the many factors affecting oil prices behave," said AAA Oregon Public Affairs Director Elliott Eki.

Consumer demand, stability of oil supplies, and the hurricane season, which begins June 1st, are among the critical factors to be considered. OPEC meets in Venezuela this month, and it will consider Venezuela President Hugo Chavez' proposal to cut production later this year. If oil ministers take his side, crude prices could push toward $75 per barrel; if they stick with the status quo, they might remain near the $70 level. The statewide average price currently exceeds $3 per gallon in only 9 states and the District of Columbia. At $3.11, Oregon`s average gasoline price is 5th highest in the nation. Hawaii has the highest statewide average price at $3.39. California`s dropped to $3.34; Nevada`s is down to $3.16; Washington`s is up to $3.17, and Idaho`s is $2.91. Oklahoma has the lowest average price at $2.60. The national average diesel price held at $2.95 per gallon. In California, diesel averages $3.37 per gallon; in Washington, it`s $3.26; in Nevada, it's $3.20; in Idaho, it's $3.24; and, in Oregon, it dropped to $3.18.