Motorists, rejoice: Gas prices finally fall in Utah

After reaching their peak in late October, Utah's gasoline prices have finally started falling — at least for now.

AAA Utah reported Tuesday that the average price for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline in the state has increased to $2.02. That is up 9 cents from the organization's last report on Oct. 12, but it's down from an all-time high of $2.04 per gallon on Oct. 30.

The average price in Utah a year ago was $1.62.

AAA Utah said in a press release that the main market force driving down retail gas prices is the falling price of crude oil.

Crude oil futures fell Tuesday after moving above $47 a barrel in intraday trading.

December delivery crude on the New York Mercantile Exchange dropped 76 cents to $46.11 per barrel. The benchmark light, sweet crude remained about $8 a barrel cheaper than its closing record of $55.17 recorded Oct. 22 and Oct. 26.

AAA Utah said every dollar decrease in the cost of crude oil typically translates into a decline of 2.5 cents in retail gasoline prices.

The organization said motorists in all Utah cities in its survey are paying more for gasoline this month than they were in October. Provo drivers saw the biggest jump, up 13 cents to an average of $2 per gallon. St. George had the next-biggest boost, up 12 cents to an average of $2.09.

Moab saw the smallest increase, up 2 cents to an average price of $2.08.

AAA Utah surveys a limited number of communities across the state in its monthly gasoline price survey, and the resulting figures are averages. Individual service stations sell gas at both higher and lower prices, sometimes even in the same city block.

And AAA is warning that any recent price declines could be short-lived.

"Any problems which affect crude oil could trigger a change in market dynamics," said Rolayne Fairclough, AAA Utah spokeswoman. "A series of East Coast blizzards that boost heating oil demand or problems in oil-producing regions of the world that cut supply would likely lead to another round of price increases."

Heating oil for December delivery settled down 1.62 cent Tuesday at $1.3269 per gallon on Nymex, after rising earlier in the session to an intraday high of $1.3660 per gallon.

"Heating oil is extraordinarily tight, and demand for the stuff is increasing on the seasonal basis as we speak," said Jan Stuart, head of energy research at FIMAT USA, a brokerage unit of Societe Generale.

He predicted "plenty of opportunity for spiking up" in the coming weeks and months.

Viktor Schum, oil analyst at Texas-based energy consultants Purvin & Gertz, also said that "the question remains on heating oil."

"Market participants would feel more comfortable with an uptake on heating oil inventory, so the U.S. won't be caught in a tight situation," he said.

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Contributing: The Associated Press; Greg Kratz