NORTHEAST OHIO GAS PRICES DOWN ALMOST THREE CENTS

According to the AAA Fuel Gauge, last Friday, January 25, the nationwide average price of self-serve regular gasoline fell below $3 per gallon for the first time since December 28 and is $2.978 per gallon today.
While the price of gasoline remains high, consumers can take some comfort in the fact that prices in most areas have dropped from the post-New Year highs of two weeks ago.

The price of oil is still hanging around $90 per barrel and most analysts are expecting further increases in US oil inventories this week. AAA remains convinced that retail gasoline prices will drop a bit further this winter.

If the US Federal Reserve Bank decides to announce another cut in interest rates tomorrow – as many believe they will – then oil prices may be pressured upward in the short-term as the dollar is expected to fall further against other major currencies.

The reason this happens is because oil is priced and traded in dollars in world markets, and a weaker dollar tends to make oil more expensive since the dollar must be converted back into the local currencies of those who sell it. Ultimately, a higher oil price will find its way to the gas pump, but it will be harder for the industry to pass along any immediate increase in oil costs if consumers are still cutting back on driving and gasoline consumption due to economic concerns.

Overall, AAA is looking for a firming of gasoline prices by March of this year. That is when demand for gasoline traditionally picks up and inventories are pressured lower as the refining industry begins spring maintenance and the switch to warm weather fuels. By then the dollar will hopefully have stabilized along with the price of oil.

This week’s average prices:
Northeast Ohio Average . . . . . . . . $2.953
Average price during the week of January 22, 2008 . . . . . . . . . . $2.980
Average price during the week of January 30, 2007 . . . . . . . . . . $2.102

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

$ 2.954 Alliance
$ 2.883 Ashland
$ 2.949 Ashtabula
$ 2.882 Aurora
$ 3.062 Chesterland
$ 2.948 Cleveland
$ 2.966 Elyria
$ 2.962 Independence
$ 2.904 Lorain
$ 2.987 Lyndhurst
$ 2.917 Mentor
$ 2.879 Niles
$ 2.998 Norwalk
$ 3.012 Oberlin
$ 2.945 Parma
$ 2.971 Ravenna
$ 2.901 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-