Gasoline prices continue to slide downhill as summer vacation season winds down, with Thursday’s average local price for regular unleaded fuel at $3.89 a gallon, its lowest point since May.
On the eve of Labor Day weekend — traditionally the last hurrah of the summer driving season — it costs 35 cents a gallon less to fill up than it did just a month ago, according to AAA’s Fuel Gauge Report.
Long gone are prices above $4.35 a gallon, which drivers suffered through in late June and early July, as the price of crude oil hit record highs.
Since then, the price of crude has settled at lower levels, and the U.S. Department of Transportation has reported noticeable reductions in miles driven across the country during May and June. That letup in demand definitely had some effect.
“We know that’s helped bring the price down,” said Janet Ray, spokeswoman at AAA’s Bellevue office.
For Labor Day weekend, AAA is forecasting a decline in the number of Americans traveling more than 50 miles from home. The association predicts 28.6 million Americans will hit the road, down more than 1 percent from a year ago. It’s the third consecutive holiday weekend this year that traveling will be down from a year ago.
The number of people flying this weekend is expected to be down more sharply, decreasing 4.5 percent. In a sign of the times, however, the number of travelers taking trains, buses or other transportation is expected to rise 12.5 percent.
As of Thursday, the statewide average price for gasoline was at $3.90, while the U.S. average had fallen to $3.66 a gallon. That still was up 90 cents — or 33 percent — from a year ago.
Reporter Eric Fetters: 425-339-3453 or fetters@heraldnet.com.
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