Gas prices in Utah fall but still top U.S. average

Utah's gasoline prices continue to fall but remain above the national average, according to the latest figures from AAA Utah.

The organization said Tuesday that Utah's average for a gallon of regular, self-serve gasoline is $2.34, which is 26 cents lower than the average a month ago and the same as a year ago.

The national average, meanwhile, is $2.23, 3 cents below the October figure and 6 cents lower than a year ago.

AAA is predicting that prices will stick near the current levels for a while, "barring any unforeseen events, including a cold weather snap back East."

It attributed the price drop to mild East Coast weather and strong OPEC inventories that sent the price of crude oil under $60 per barrel. Light sweet crude for December delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange declined by 30 cents to settle at $58.28 a barrel Tuesday, according to the Associated Press.

"Gasoline prices have continued to drop following the price of crude oil, which has stayed at or somewhat below the $60 per barrel range," AAA Utah spokeswoman Rolayne Fairclough said in a prepared statement. "This is an encouraging sign, especially in light of OPEC's decision last month to reduce production by 1.2 million barrels per day."

AAA Utah surveys a limited number of communities across the state in its monthly gas report. Individual service stations sell gas at both higher and lower prices, sometimes in the same city block. AAA's report focuses on self-serve regular gasoline without regard to its octane level.

Each of the Utah cities included in the AAA survey experienced double-digit price drops from October. Provo had the largest dip, at 36 cents, and its average price was $2.24. Ogden, at 29 cents, was next and had an average of $2.31. Salt Lake motorists pay $2.26 on average, down 26 cents. Moab, consistently with the highest price in the AAA survey, had an average of $2.51, down 10 cents from October.

Lower-in-November averages were seen across the Intermountain West and California. Nevada has the highest average, at $2.49, despite seeing the figure slip 15 cents in the past month. The biggest drop other than the one in Utah was 24 cents in Colorado, which had an average of $2.21.

AAA's Fuel Finder, located at www.aaa.com/ gasprices, features real-time information on gas prices at more than 85,000 stations throughout the country.