Oh what a relief it is

COEUR d'ALENE — Local gas prices hovering around the $2 mark are expected to bottom out soon, but AAA does not expect there to be any large increases until mid-February.

While many stations in Coeur d'Alene have dipped below $2 per gallon for a few weeks, the city's average on Monday was $2.02, according to AAA. That's 27 cents cheaper than it was at this time last year.

The average in the state is $2.14, Post Falls $2.10 and the nation $1.99.

Cheap oil, ample gas supplies and lower driver demand have pushed the national average below $2 for the first time since March 25, 2009, according to AAA.

"Gas prices in the region should remain low in the coming weeks, perhaps at or below the $2 mark," said Dave Carlson, AAA spokesman. "North Idaho has been more insulated from supply side retail pump increases compared to the rest of Idaho. Prices in North Idaho, and more particularly Coeur d’Alene, tend to be lower than the Idaho average, because there are more sources for gasoline."

Analysts have said the reason Post Falls is generally a nickel or dime more than Coeur d'Alene is because stations don't have as much competition close by as Coeur d'Alene does and Post Falls is closer to Spokane, which has even higher prices.

Thirty states have average prices below $2 a gallon, with Idaho’s $2.14 average price being the ninth highest in the country.

"That’s not unusual given our isolation from competitive fuel sources," Carlson said. "It’s reasonable to assume we're entering or in the middle of the seasonal lowest prices. Two-dollar gas should be around for a while. The mid-$30 price for a barrel of West Texas crude has not yet been passed all the way through to the retail marketplace."

Idaho gas prices have been higher than the U.S. average price since mid-March of this year. Carlson said he's optimistic that the state's average will dip below $2 in the next few weeks.

Carlson said Idahoans benefited from among the lowest prices in the country in January and February. Idaho’s average price was below $2 both months, and at one point in January, motorists paid an average price in the mid-$1.80 range, according to AAA.

For the moment, nearly two-thirds of U.S. stations are selling gas under $2 per gallon, and drivers can find at least one station selling gas for less than that price in 45 states.

Coeur d'Alene's $2.02 average is the same as Twin Falls' and the cost is the lowest in the state among large cities. Boise is at $2.15; Idaho Falls, $2.07; Lewiston, $2.20; Nampa, $2.15; and Pocatello, $2.05.

The last time both U.S. and Idaho average prices were below $2 on Christmas was in 2008. That year, gas prices rose to the highest marks on record in July (Idaho, $4.16; U.S. $4.12), before taking a steep dive by year’s end.

Carlson said he doesn't have a long-term prognosis yet for gas prices in 2016.

"We start with the premise that cheap, abundant oil won’t go away all at once, but that at some point, the drillers and companies that go after the oil will have to pull back on supplies," he said. "Any improvements in the economy will likely reflect higher gas prices. All in all, though, I do not see a return to $3.50 gas."