Fuel prices have fallen this week to their lowest level since midsummer, a small Christmas gift after a year of jaw-dropping increases at the pump.
Around central Snohomish County, most stations posted prices Wednesday between $1.85 and $2.05, with a few up to $2.15 a gallon.
The official average price for regular unleaded gasoline in the Seattle-Bellevue-Everett area was $1.92, according to AAA.
That’s down 14 cents from a month ago, but still 40 cents above last year at this time.
“We’re happy it’s at least down over the highs we experienced,” said Janet Ray, spokeswoman for AAA’s office in Bellevue.
In late May, the region’s average price for a gallon of unleaded peaked at a record $2.35, and has stayed above $2 a gallon much of the time since then.
Prices are falling at gas pumps despite forecasts that a record 51 million people will travel by motor vehicle between Christmas and New Year’s this year, up 2.9 percent from 2003, according to AAA.
The crude oil market gets the credit for the latest price drops. Oil prices on the New York Mercantile Exchange fell more than $1.50 Wednesday to close at $44.24 a barrel. While that’s historically high, it’s down sharply from the fall, when prices exceeded $50 a barrel. Still, crude oil prices are up 36 percent this year.
The federal Energy Information Administration reported higher inventories of crude oil and heating oil for the week ending Dec. 17. Crude oil inventories in particular rose to their highest level since July.
The agency also noted that, on the national level, the average price of regular unleaded gasoline has dropped to its lowest level since late April.
“It appears that gasoline prices are unlikely to rise significantly over the next week or two, with a reasonable chance of declining even further as we move into 2005,” the federal office said in its weekly report.
Even so, motorists shouldn’t plan on lower prices. The Energy Information Administration predicts prices in the summer will eclipse this year’s records.
Reporter Eric Fetters: 425-339-3453 or fetters@heraldnet.com.
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