Gasoline Prices Dipping Nationwide as Oregon's Rises

Diesel prices...especially in Oregon... are also on the rampage. Drivers are paying up 30 cents more in the past month, to $3.34/gal.

Salem-News.com

(PORTLAND, Ore.) - The national average is down, but Oregon's average cost for gas has gone up. At $2.90, Oregon's statewide average gasoline price has jumped from 11th to 8th highest in the nation. "This week's fuel gauge picture is a double image," said AAA Oregon Public Affairs Director Elliott Eki.

"While the national average price for a gallon of regular gasoline went down a half cent to $2.76, Oregon's statewide average jumped upward by three cents to $2.90. Topping off that news, crude oil hit an all-time high $87 per barrel Tuesday morning."

The usual reasons are cited for the oil price hikes. Among them: weak oil inventories; OPEC holding the line on production levels; Middle East strife, which potentially could disrupt oil operations; the declining value of the U.S. dollar; and, expanding strategic reserves in the U.S. and other nations. Whatever is the most dominant driving force behind the high price of crude oil, motorists should expect to see quick reaction at the fuel pumps. Unless the price of oil reverses course, fuel prices could hit record highs by Spring 2008.

In Oregon's four measured metropolitan areas, weekly average price increases ranged from about two-cents per gallon in Salem to a nickel per gallon in the Eugene-Springfield area, suggesting that average prices may hit $3 in the near future.

More dramatic is the diesel fuel market. In the past week, Oregon's average diesel price gained 12-cents and currently averages $3.34 per gallon--two cents shy of the record price set in August 2006, and tied with the Idaho statewide average as 5th highest in the nation. In the past month, Oregon's average diesel price shot up by almost 30-cents per gallon.

Portland’s price of $2.862 is the best in the Oregon. Salem has the state’s second cheapest gasoline, with drivers paying $2.873 for a gallon of regular. Motorists in the Eugene/Springfield area are paying $2.901, and the Medford/Ashland region is seeing gas sell for $2.953. Vancouver, Washington residents are paying $2.931 at the pumps for self-serve regular.

Oregon's $2.90 statewide average gasoline price is number 8 in the nation. Hawaii has the highest average price at $3.19; in the contiguous U.S., California is highest at $3.07, and New Jersey is lowest at $2.53. Washington's average price went up to $2.97, Idaho's inched upward to $2.84, and Nevada's climbed to $2.92. The national average diesel price is up to $3.09 per gallon. Hawaii has the highest state wide average price at $3.68. In California, diesel averages $3.35 per gallon; in Washington it's up 13 cents to $3.46, in Idaho it's $3.33, and in Nevada it's $3.26.

Source: Oregon AAA