AAA Expects Alaska Fuel Prices to Continue to Fall

Anchorage, Alaska, 10/9/08-For the first time since April of this year, the statewide average in Alaska for a gallon of fuel has dropped below $4.16.  AAA expects prices to fall faster and further in the days ahead.  This brings welcome relief for consumers who are in desperate need of some good news given the turbulent past weeks on Wall Street and the ongoing uncertainty of the nation’s economy.

The latest slide in fuel prices can be attributed to the recent sharp sell-off in the price of oil to near $90 per barrel and wholesale gasoline prices that have dropped below $3.40 per gallon last week.

There are several reasons petroleum prices are falling including: the weakening of the Euro; demand levels for petroleum in both the United States and Europe continue to fall; and gasoline inventories are improving now that many refineries and pipeline systems that had to shut down as a result of Hurricanes Gustav and Ike are now back on line. 

A look at statewide average prices on the AAA Fuel Gauge Report web site (www.fuelgaugereport.com) shows tremendous pricing disparity from one region of the country to another this week, and an unusual price pattern.  For example, North Carolina and Georgia typically have among the lowest cost gasoline in the nation, yet this week continue to have the highest prices in the contiguous states this week at $3.72 and $3.66 respectively.  California usually has among the highest retail gasoline prices in the country but is paying $3.55 today.   Oklahoma has lowest average retail price at $2.91 per gallon.

These numbers indicate that areas of the country that were most affected by hurricane-related low gasoline inventories are paying prices that would otherwise be much lower. 

“Once this situation corrects itself and more a more typical price pattern returns, the nationwide average retail gasoline price should be substantially lower,” says Denice Harris, AAA Spokeswoman.  “Probably near $3.00 per gallon before Thanksgiving.”

The nationwide average is $3.40 today, 15 cents lower than one month ago.

AAA MountainWest Club is dedicated to providing its over 160,000 members in Alaska, Montana and Wyoming with travel, insurance, financial and auto-related services.  A fully taxpaying, not for profit corporation, AAA MountainWest, Inc. works for the improvement of motoring and traveling conditions and is a leader for travel, civic and safety issues. AAA can be visited on the Internet at www.aaa.com.  To have up-to-date news and safety information from AAA delivered right to your desktop, sign-up for the new RSS Feed at http://aca.aaa.com/exts/email/?club=066#rss

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