Gasoline prices are down but rising

Lower, but getting higher.

That sums up the latest gasoline price information from AAA Utah, which on Tuesday reported that average prices in Utah are down 18 cents from last month but already are inching up.

The agency said the Utah average price for a gallon of regular, self-serve gasoline is $3.07, but the price has been on the upswing since July 6, following the Fourth of July holiday. That $3.07 average is 20 cents higher than a year ago. Utah's highest average was on May 31 of this year, when it topped out at $3.28.

"This may prove to be a very brief reprieve from the recent cycle of relentlessly rising prices," Rolayne Fairclough, spokeswoman for AAA Utah, said in a prepared statement. "Prices have actually begun to increase again, so even though we're paying less than a month ago, the cost of filling up is on the rise."

Nationally, gas prices dropped a cent at the pump overnight Monday, following a futures market that has plunged more than 25 cents a gallon over five days on news of growing inventories and refineries returning to service.

The national average price of a gallon of gas dropped to $3.04, according to AAA and the Oil Price Information Service. It was the second straight decline after gas had risen a dime over 10 days amid Midwestern refinery problems. Last year at this time, the national price was $2.96. Its highest level was $3.23 on May 24 of this year.

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.

Among Utah cities surveyed for the AAA report, only two have averages below $3 and all saw double-digit decreases from last month.

Ogden and Moab saw 22-cent drops. Salt Lake City and St. George had prices slip 20 cents. Provo was down 19 cents.

Among AAA survey cities in Utah, Moab had the highest average, $3.14. Ogden had the lowest, at $2.98. Salt Lake was right behind, at $2.99.

Among Intermountain states, both Idaho's average and price decrease from a month ago matched those of Utah. Colorado drivers were paying $3.17, while Arizona motorists were paying $2.88 per gallon. California's average dipped 15 cents to $3.15.