Sean C. Morgan
Oregon gas prices have been holding steady after climbing in recent months, but the national average set a record last week and prices may reach $2 per gallon this year.
As of March 23, in Oregon, the average price for regular unleaded remained stable, hovering in the low to middle $1.80 range for the past month.
“They haven’t moved probably for three weeks now,” Bill Van Valin, owner of the Chevron station at 18th and Main, said. “I’m sure they’ll be going again by summer.”
He expects, based on what he’s read, prices to climb another 10 to 15 cents.
“It’s all so crazy,” Van Valin said, but it hasn’t really slowed the pumps down. “It hasn’t slowed down much at all. I’m sure it will have an effect in the summer.”
Van Valin expects drivers to continue taking summer trips, but they’ll probably be shorter trips this year.
Last summer, gas prices hit $1.90 per gallon.
The price came down at the end of the summer “but not as much as normal,” Van Valin said. “It didn’t drop the way it normally would drop. We’re going to be above where we were last year. I’m sure of that.”
Diesel prices spiked up even more than regular gasoline earlier this year, but diesel prices have come back down a bit, Van Valin said.
The spike in diesel impacted fuel bills for trucking.
“The worst part has probably been the last two months,” Mary Betts, owner of More Fibre, said. “And it’s gone up by probably 50 percent.”
Fuel bills for More Fibre’s four-truck fleet were ranging $3,200 to $4,000. The last couple of months, the bill has approached close to $6,000.
“I don’t think it’s the people we deal with,” Betts said. “I think it’s the suppliers. I think they make a false shortage once in awhile just to jack prices up.”
The state’s average regular gasoline price is almost 11 cents higher than the national average and 14 cents below the all-time high, according to Oregon AAA. Metropolitan area prices behaved similarly, with the highest average price in the Medford-Ashland area and the lowest in Salem. In neighboring Vancouver, Washington, motorists are paying an average $1.77 at the pumps.
Increased consumption, high crude oil prices and low inventories are blamed for the steady rise in the national average gasoline price, which hit a record high $1.783 per gallon today. The previous high was $1.737 set last August.
Analysts expect crude oil prices to drop by week’s end, due primarily to the possibility that OPEC will not implement planned production reductions on April 1. If that occurs, pump prices should fall, but probably for a very short time. As more states convert to cleaner burning summer fuels next month, gas prices likely will climb to even higher levels.
?Across the nation, more than 15 varieties of summer fuel grades are being used,? said AAA Oregon Public Affairs Director Elliott Eki. ?While they clean the air, they also hamper the efficient production and distribution of gasoline. We must reduce the number of the summer blends and at the same time achieve environmental goals.?
In addition to the previously identified price affecting factors, new and complicated clean fuel regulations and insufficient domestic refining capacity compound the energy situation. Consumers should expect an unstable gasoline price and supply picture for the year.
At $1.83, Oregon’s statewide average price remains 6th highest in the nation. California tops the list at $2.14, down slightly from a week ago. Hawaii’s average is $2.11, and Nevada’s is $2.06. In Washington, the average price is $1.81; in Idaho, it’s $1.82; and, in Arizona, it’s $1.92. Georgia, Oklahoma and South Carolina have the lowest average price at about $1.61 per gallon.