Motorists smile as gas prices fall below $2
<p>Marty Garitone, of Mullan, Idaho, kicks snow off his truck while he waits for his tank to fill at the Cenex on Government Way in Dalton Gardens. Gas prices fell to $1.99 per gallon for regular fuel.</p>
Motorists at some local pumps are toasting sub-$2 gas prices heading into the new year.
The price at the Fighting Creek Market along U.S. 95 south of Coeur d'Alene on Tuesday was $1.94, according to IdahoGasPrices.com. Multiple stations in Coeur d'Alene were at $1.99.
Coeur d'Alene's average was $2.07 - 70 cents cheaper than just a month ago, according to AAA Idaho. Post Falls' average is $2.17 - 62 cents lower than last month.
Dave Carlson, AAA spokesman, said Coeur d'Alene's average hasn't dipped below the $2 mark since March 31, 2009.
"We may be getting close to bottoming out," Carlson said. "I frankly just don't know, given the volatility we've experienced in the oil markets. If oil drops further, we might see $2 gas in a few (more) Idaho communities."
Idaho's average on Tuesday was $2.22 - 77 cents lower than a month ago and the lowest level since May 2009. The nation's average is $2.27.
Two states' average prices are less than $2 - Missouri at $1.92 and Oklahoma $1.98. Idaho is one of four states - Michigan, Indiana and Ohio are the others - with month-over-month declines of at least 75 cents.
"Consumers are benefitting from plummeting gasoline prices," Carlson said. "That's been great for Idahoans who had been paying among the nation's highest prices for six months."
The glut of oil here and abroad has pushed oil prices
see GAS, C5
from C1
to the lowest levels in five years, Carlson said. As a commodity, oil is priced based on supply and demand factors. West Texas Intermediate closed Monday at $53.61 a barrel, down from $99 a year ago.
How low can prices go? And when will they go up?
The answers will depend on the response from oil drillers and producers, Carlson said. Investors and producers may not be willing to continue given current financial conditions. Nevertheless, the Energy Information Administration recently revised its earlier predictions downward, saying low oil prices will keep U.S. gas prices around the $2.60 mark in 2015.
The average U.S. mark for 2014 was $3.35, according to AAA. Idaho's average price was $3.40 for the year. Sustained lower prices for oil will likely result in pump prices below those marks in 2015.
"Predicting prices in this region can be difficult," Carlson said.
Idaho's average prices were well below the national average for the first half of 2014, but climbed higher starting in June as oil prices were beginning to drop.