A gallon of unleaded today in Kitsap County is going for $3.96, down a penny from Tuesday and down six cents from a week ago, says the AAA. Here’s a portion of a national Associated Press story on gas prices. Rachel Pritchett
Drivers getting an early start on the Memorial Day weekend are
pulling out of gas stations with a little more cash in their
pockets.
The national average for unleaded regular gasoline was $3.81 a
gallon on Thursday. That’s 9 cents less than it was a week ago,
according to AAA, Wright Express and the Oil Price Information
Service.
Most stations across the country are charging even less — about
$3.70 a gallon. That’s down 10 cents from Wednesday, according to
Fred Rozell, retail pricing director for the OPIS.
Consumers in California, Washington, Illinois and five other states
are paying the highest prices in a range between $3.91 and $4.28 a
gallon. The cheapest prices — between $3.57 and $3.69 a gallon, can
be found in Wyoming, Arizona, parts of the Midwest and the
South.
Pump prices are expected to drift lower through the holiday
weekend, reflecting lower oil prices, which are down about 12
percent since the beginning of May.
“There’s a lot of room between what the retailers are charging and
wholesale prices so we should see that continue to creep down,”
Rozell said.
AAA predicts nearly 35 million Americans will travel 50 miles or
more from home this Memorial Day weekend, a slight increase from
2010. They are expected to spend less on things like hotel rooms
and restaurants because of higher gas prices. Pump prices are the
highest they’ve been since August, 2008.
