Oregon Gasoline Prices Move Downward

Average prices are leveling. The national average is down by a couple cents, Oregon's savings are much less.

Photo by: Bonnie King

(PORTLAND, Ore.) - Gasoline prices nationwide have settled down in the past week, dropping the average price for a gallon of regular by two cents to $2.79. Oregon's average price fell by only a half cent to $2.87.

Salem’s average price of $2.835 is the cheapest in Oregon. Portland’s average for a gallon of regular is currently $2.843. Eugene/Springfield drivers are paying $2.860 for regular, while Medford/Ashland’s current cost is $2.947. Vancouver, Washington residents are paying $2.922 for a gallon of self-serve regular gas.

"Last week's pricing activity suggested a half dozen or so states would see average prices in excess of $3 per gallon," said AAA Oregon Public Affairs Director Elliott Eki. "That didn't happen. C+-rude oil is selling for less than $80 per barrel, consumer demand is about the same as it was at this time one year ago, and more foreign gasoline is available to U.S. markets. Those circumstances help hold down pump prices."

The current national average price is a half cent per gallon higher than it was one month ago and 48-cents higher than one year ago. By comparison, Oregon's current average price is about 11-cents higher than a month ago and 18-cents higher than a year ago.

Of Oregon's four measured metropolitan areas, only Medford-Ashland recorded a weekly increase in the average price, which went up more than two cents per gallon to $2.95. Salem's average price backed off by just under three cents per gallon to $2.84.

With average prices generally leveling, it's reasonable to expect to see prices retreating further during the Autumn and Winter months. Of course, how far prices might fall is impossible to forecast precisely, but one thing is certain: for the remainder of 2007, prices won't match the record highs set in May.

At $2.87, Oregon's statewide average gasoline price ranks 14th highest in the nation. Hawaii has the highest average price at $3.21; in the contiguous U.S., California is highest at $2.99 and New Jersey is lowest at $2.55. Washington's average price remained at $2.96, Idaho's held at $2.81, and Nevada's went up to $2.85. The national average diesel price now stands at $3.08 per gallon. In California, diesel averages $3.25 per gallon; in Washington it's $3.24, in Idaho it's $3.14, and in Nevada it's $3.11. Oregon's average diesel price is now $3.10.