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SALT LAKE CITY — Fuel prices in Utah fell significantly last month, according to AAA Utah. Every metro area in the state saw double-digit decreases at the pump.
Utah is tied with Kansas for the ninth cheapest state average price for regular unleaded gasoline in the country.
The current average price in the Beehive State is $3.14, down 28 cents from November. Of the Utah cities surveyed by AAA, Vernal had the highest average price at $3.43 per gallon, while St. George was the lowest at $3.07 per gallon.
Nationally, the average price was $3.27 — down 14 cents. A gallon of regular is about 15 cents cheaper than a month ago and 29 cents cheaper than a year ago.
The least expensive gasoline in the country was found in Albuquerque at an average price of $2.84 per gallon. In contrast, Wailuku, Hawaii, had the highest average price at $4.38 per gallon.
December average: $3.14
November average: $3.62- Highest: Vernal, $3.43
- Lowest: St. George, $3.07
Among all 50 states, Hawaii had the highest average price at $4.06, while Missouri and New Mexico tied for the lowest average price at $3.02.
Data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration showed that demand for gasoline in the United States is the lowest it has been in the past six weeks. MasterCard SpendingPulse reported Tuesday that the four-week average for U.S. retail gasoline demand fell by 4.2 percent year- over-year, marking the 38th week in a row that gasoline demand fell.
While demand for gasoline has dropped along with prices, oil prices jumped about 2 percent Tuesday as tensions rose in Iran and strong retail sales put a rosier glow on the U.S. economy.
Benchmark crude rose $2.37, or 2.4 percent, to end the day at $100.14 per barrel in New York. Brent crude, which is used to price foreign oil imported by some U.S. refineries, rose $2 to finish at $109.08 a barrel in London.
Analysts said traders reacted to more saber-rattling by Iran, as the country continues to deny accusations that it is developing nuclear weapons. Iran's navy now plans to run drills, practicing a closing of the narrow Strait of Hormuz at the mouth of the Persian Gulf.
- Current average: $3.22
- Month ago average: $3.37
- Year ago average: $2.98
- Current average: $3.06
- Month ago average: $3.34
- Year ago average: $2.81
About a third of the world's oil tanker traffic passes through that strategic waterway, and even a brief closure could crimp oil supplies around the world. Longer, more expensive routes would have to be used to transport crude from the region.
"There's just a lot of chatter out there," said Addison Armstrong, director of market research at Tradition Energy. "There are a lot of possibilities of what might happen," but traders are choosing to err on the side of buying rather than selling.
Rumors swirled during the day about what the Federal Reserve might do to further stimulate the economy. The Fed, which met Tuesday, left open the possibility for new steps to stimulate the economy next year if needed, but said the nation's economy appeared to be slowly recovering.
The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries will meet Wednesday in Europe to decide how much oil to bring to the market. OPEC trimmed its forecast for global oil demand in 2012. But at 88.9 million barrels per day, OPEC's outlook still puts world demand at a record high next year.
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