Gas prices in area down by 20 cents

~ Missouri has some of the lowest gasoline prices in the nation.

Falling gasoline prices have trimmed about 20 cents a gallon off of fuel costs in the last two weeks in Southeast Missouri.

The result is prices below $2.50 a gallon at most pumps, with a few stations charging less than $2.40. And for motorists filling up on Saturday afternoon, the direction of the price change is welcome relief.

"I hope it lasts, but I kind of doubt it," said Karen Sanders as she and her husband, Dennis, filled up the tank of a Pontiac Grand Prix at Kidd's on East Jackson Boulevard in Jackson. "By next summer, it will be way up again."

In addition to the Pontiac, the Sanders drive a Chevrolet Trailblazer. Despite high prices, they said they haven't considered switching to a smaller vehicle.

They need the room, Karen Sanders said, to transport their children and their friends to soccer practice and other activities.

"I think gas prices went down because summer vacation is over," she said.

Dennis Sanders said the Pontiac is a company car that will be replaced soon. He said he was given a choice between a van and a four-cylinder sedan. He chose the sedan, even though his employer pays the fuel bill.

"We need to do as much as we can," he said.

Missouri enjoys some of the lowest gasoline prices in the nation and Southeast Missouri has the lowest prices in the state, according to the latest report from the Missouri Department of Natural Resources.

The department's monthly energy bulletin, released Thursday, reported the statewide average price for unleaded gasoline was $2.765 per gallon, almost 16 cents less than the national average. The average price in Southeast Missouri was $2.619 per gallon, almost 15 cents less than the statewide average.

The energy bulletin, and reports from the Associated Press, noted a combination of forces that have pushed down prices. Oil prices peaked in July at $78.40 a barrel when investors worried that Iran, OPEC's No. 2 producer, could become embroiled in the conflict between Israel and the Hezbollah militia in Lebanon. Iran is a major backer of Hezbollah.

The spike was maintained by an announcement from British Petroleum that it would have to shut down Prudhoe Bay, the nation's largest oil field, because of pipeline corrosion.

A subsequent announcement that BP would keep part of the field pumping, as well as slackening fears of a spreading war in the Middle East between the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militia and Israel, also eased pressure on prices.

Another factor pushing prices down was the decision by a major investment firm, Goldman Sachs, to shift money in its commodities index fund away from gasoline. Other investors responded and gasoline prices fell almost 8 cents a gallon in a single day on brokerage markets, the Associated Press reported.

Despite the recent decline, average Missouri gas prices remain 11 percent above where they stood in August 2005 prior to Hurricane Katrina.

Fran Chastain of Alto Pass, Ill., was taking advantage of the lower prices Saturday afternoon to fill up her Jeep Cherokee at Huck's on Kingshighway. She said she tries to time her gasoline purchases to her visits to Cape Girardeau because prices are consistently lower in Missouri than in Illinois.

Chastain said she's heard many people blame politicians for high gas prices. "But we are the ones demanding the oil," she said. "It is not the politicians who are demanding we buy it."

Chastain said she hasn't changed her driving habits. And she's not impressed with the recent drop in prices, she said. "We're saying 'Thank God it's only $2.50," she said dryly. "Oh, isn't that wonderful."

rkeller@semissourian.com

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