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Thursday, October 09, 2008

Falling Fuel Prices Offer Some Relief

By Richard Metcalf
Journal Staff Writer
       Call it the good news amongst all the bad: gas prices finally dropping under $3 a gallon all over town.
    One sign Wednesday advertising $2.859 for unleaded was a magnet for a steady stream of cars and trucks at the Circle K at the northwest corner of Fourth and Montaño NW during the lunch hour.
    "I bought this in 2005 — that's what I was paying then," said Ventana Ranch resident Corey Ryan, sitting in line in the cab of his heavy-duty Dodge Ram 2500 pickup.
    "I drive this way to work, so I keep my eye out for low prices," he said, nodding at a gas station sign across Montaño for $3.089 a gallon. "Every once in a while, they get into a price war with the place across the street. Circle K's got them beat today. We all win out."
    While topping off her SUV's tank with $12 of gas at the same Circle K, another Rio Rancho resident said she took a big detour on her way to work near Wyoming and Academy.
    "It was worth me leaving an hour ahead of time to stop by," she said.
    A few blocks to the south at another $2.859 a gallon station, the Lowe's market at Griegos and Fourth NW, Elva Vasquez was jubilant. "I was on E and waited 40 minutes to fill up ... but it was worth it," she said.
    Some 15 gas stations were offering gas priced at under $3 a gallon in the metro on Wednesday, according to gasbuddy.com, a Web site where consumers log in their findings of cheap and expensive gas. Seven stations below $3 were in the North Valley, two in Rio Rancho, one in the Northeast Heights, and five out Bernalillo way.
    The metro's average price has generally fallen since setting a record of $3.99 a gallon on July 17, according to AAA. Wednesday's citywide average of $3.23 is the lowest it's been since April 4. The price dropped 10 cents from Friday to Wednesday, according to AAA's fuelgaugereport.com.
    The average Las Cruces price dropped 9 cents to $3.44 a gallon between Friday and Wednesday, while Santa Fe's average dropped a nickel to $3.43 a gallon. The statewide average price was also $3.43 a gallon, the lowest it's been since April 18.
    Nationally, a gallon of regular dropped 13 cents since last Friday to $3.45, according to fuelgaugereport.com.
    In the broader national picture, oil prices continued their fall Wednesday, touching their lowest level this year, as the government reported a huge spike in crude inventories while giving more evidence of dwindling demand.
    Light, sweet crude for November delivery was down $1.23 at $88.83 in afternoon trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange, paring earlier losses after the stock market rose into positive territory after being down most of the day.
    Oil prices earlier fell to $86.05, the lowest level since Dec. 6, 2007.
    Crude has now fallen about 40 percent since surging to an all-time record $147.27 a barrel on July 11.