Pump prices should last

Local motorists can give some thanks for gas prices being lower than a month and a year ago.

The average price per gallon in Coeur d'Alene on Tuesday was $2.80, compared to $3 a month ago and $2.99 a year ago at this time.

The average price in Post Falls, typically higher than in Coeur d'Alene, was $2.79 on Tuesday, compared to $3.06 a month ago and $3.09 a year ago.

Idaho's average price on Tuesday was $3.06 - the seventh-highest in the nation but the lowest going back to February 2011.

"We expect lower pump prices should be around for a while," said Dave Carlson, AAA Idaho spokesman. "What OPEC (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) and its member-producing countries decide to do about production levels at a meeting this Friday could set the tone for pump prices for 2015 and beyond."

Carlson said he suspects local prices will continue to be lower than the state's and comparable to the nation due to the access to cheaper, wholesale-priced gas in the region.

"Gas prices are down thanks to lower oil prices, weak demand here and abroad and plentiful unconstrained gas and oil supplies," he said.

The nation's average is $2.81 - 47 cents less than a year ago. It's the nation's lowest average price since Thanksgiving 2010.

Carlson said Idaho's average prices are high on the national scale because there is less competition for retailers to cut prices.

"An isolated market means less competitive factors," he said.

Idaho's $3.06 average price is 71 cents cheaper than it was on Labor Day.

"That makes an 18-gallon fill-up about $13 less expensive now than it was then," Carlson said.

AAA expects 46.3 million Americans will travel 50 miles or more this holiday, up 4.2 percent over last year. Nearly nine in 10 travelers will go by car, which means 41.3 million Americans will be driving or riding to grandma's place or the destination of their choice.

Closer to home, 237,000 Idahoans will travel 50 miles or more, with 204,000 going by car, AAA predicts.

"Stronger travel projections this year point to more disposable income, higher GDP (gross domestic product), an improving employment picture, stronger consumer confidence and, of course, lower energy prices," Carlson said.

AAA Idaho encourages motorists to go online to www.511.idaho.gov for current weather and road conditions.