Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
SALT LAKE CITY — Prices at the gas pump fell during the first two weeks of June, down 12 cents from the previous month. The decrease helped the Beehive State achieve the ninth-cheapest fuel price in the nation, according to Utah AAA.
Utah Average Gas Prices
| Current | $3.613 |
| Yesterday | $3.617 |
| 1 week ago | $3.645 |
| 1 month ago | $3.734 |
| 1 year ago | $2.949 |
Utah’s current average price for a gallon of regular gasoline is $3.62, down from $3.74 in May, but 62 cents higher than the same period last year.
Of the Utah cities surveyed, Salt Lake City, Moab and Vernal tied for the highest average price at $3.74 per gallon while St. George had the lowest average Utah metro price at $3.54 per gallon.
AAA said all but one Utah metro area saw its price drop by double-digits since last month.
Nationally, the average price of gasoline dropped 25 cents to $3.70 — a dollar more than the national price of $2.70 on this date last year.
“Consumers continue to experience welcome relief at the pump as gasoline markets in the U.S. are returning to relatively lower prices,” said AAA Utah spokesman Matt Skryja. “Gasoline demand is down over the last week after it steadily rose for the four weeks prior.”
At its meeting in Vienna last week, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries was unable to come to a consensus about whether its members should increase oil production to meet the rising global demand forecast for the remainder of the year, Skryja said.
He commented that the Saudi oil minister declared that his country will meet the needs of the market regardless of the disagreement — an action that is expected to apply downward pressure on crude prices.
OPEC member countries collectively hold 79 percent of global crude oil reserves and account for 44 percent of global production. The United States imports nearly 6 million barrels per day of crude oil from OPEC countries, accounting for almost one-third of U.S. consumption.
Meanwhile, the least expensive gasoline in the country was found in the metro area of Greenville-Spartanburg-Anderson, South Carolina, where the average price of regular gasoline was $3.37. Wailuku, Hawaii, had highest average price in the nation at $4.40 per gallon.
Among the lower 48 states, the highest state prices were paid in Connecticut and Illinois, which both reached an average of $4.01 per gallon.
