Posted on 05/24/2005 1:18:37 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
WASHINGTON - U.S. gasoline prices fell for the sixth week in a row, but drivers will still pay the highest pump costs on record heading into any Memorial Day weekend, the government said Monday.
The national average price for regular unleaded gasoline declined 3.8 cents over the past week to $2.13 a gallon, up 6 cents from a year ago, according to a weekly survey of service stations by the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
While pump prices are at a record for the holiday, high fuel costs are not cutting into vacation plans.
The AAA motorists club said it expects a record 31.1 million Americans will travel by car 50 miles or more from home this holiday weekend — the traditional start of the summer vacation season — up 2.2 percent from last year.
A family going 1,000 miles in a minivan will have to pay an extra $30 for fuel this weekend compared with two years ago, when gasoline averaged $1.50 a gallon, AAA spokesman Mantill Williams said, adding, "That's not a vacation deal-breaker for most people."
Weekly gasoline prices are falling because of declining crude oil costs and growing U.S. petroleum inventories that are near a six-year high.
In the weekly Energy Information Administration survey, the West Coast had the most expensive regular unleaded gasoline, with the price down 3.8 cents to $2.40 a gallon. San Francisco topped the survey of cities, with the price of gasoline down 5.8 cents at $2.51 a gallon.
The Gulf Coast states had the cheapest fuel, with the price down 4.1 cents at $2.02 per gallon. Among major cities, Houston had the cheapest pump price, with fuel down 4.2 cents at $1.98 a gallon.
In the futures market, light, sweet crude for July delivery rose 51 cents to settle at $49.16 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. In London, July Brent rose 34 cents to $48.37 a barrel.
Heating oil slipped 0.08 cent to $1.3665 a gallon, while unleaded gasoline fell 2.06 cents to $1.3985 a gallon. Natural gas was up 6.4 cents to $6.407 per thousand cubic feet.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
Don't get me started :)
Why just the other day, I noticed that gas prices in Montana were down. Its a lot cheaper than Evian.
Cute.
Something people seem so willing to gloss over. Lemmings.
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