OVER FOUR CENT DROP IN NORTHEAST OHIO GAS PRICES

According to the AAA Fuel Gauge, the nationwide average price of self-serve regular gasoline is $2.96 per gallon today. Oil is trading between $92 and $93 per barrel. Last week’s impressive increase in inventories of oil and gasoline, as reported by the U.S. Department of Energy, was great news for consumers but was glossed over by some energy analysts as a brief event that will surely change come spring.

Analysts surveyed this week by trade reporters say they are expecting still bigger builds in both oil and gasoline inventories this week. And despite the forecast for tomorrow’s numbers, it should be noted that refinery utilization has recently slipped below 90 percent, and a number of companies have announced operational problems in various locations.
If these two trends accelerate, then gasoline availability could become a problem again.

Adding to the general theme of slowing energy production - just as prices seemed poised for a downward slide - was this week’s threat to cutoff oil and gasoline shipments to the United States by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. Although Chavez said he is angered by an international court decision that froze billions of dollars in his country’s financial assets - pending the outcome of a court case brought against Venezuela by ExxonMobil - his rhetoric also suggests he does not want to see oil and gasoline prices slide any lower. Venezuela is the world's ninth-largest oil producer and fourth-biggest exporter to the United States.

This week’s average prices:
Northeast Ohio Average . . . . . . . . $2.944
Average price during the week of February 5, 2008 . . . . . . . . . . $2.986
Average price during the week of February 13, 2007 . . . . . . . . . $2.274

The following is a list of the average price of unleaded self-serve gasoline in various areas:

$ 2.931 Alliance
$ 2.924 Ashland
$ 2.906 Ashtabula
$ 2.946 Aurora
$ 2.999 Chesterland
$ 2.945 Cleveland
$ 2.977 Elyria
$ 2.942 Independence
$ 2.908 Lorain
$ 2.966 Lyndhurst
$ 2.905 Mentor
$ 2.899 Niles
$ 3.017 Norwalk
$ 2.909 Oberlin
$ 2.879 Parma
$ 2.943 Ravenna
$ 2.956 Solon
$ 3.039 Willard

AAA East Central is a not-for-profit association with 85 local offices in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Ohio, New York and Kentucky servicing 2.5 million members.

-AAA-