BOISE, Idaho — Gas prices have continued to trend down from the record highs this summer, however, they are still much higher compared to the national average and compared to what prices in Idaho were this time last year.
The average price of a gallon of gas in Boise has fallen by 2.5 cents in the last week, coming out to $4.30 per gallon, according to a new report by GasBuddy. That stands 7.4 cents higher than prices were a month ago, and 51.1 cents higher compared to a year ago.
"For the third consecutive week, we've seen the national average price of gasoline decline, and while it's good news for most regions with a continued drop in prices, the Northeast is bucking the trend and seeing a noticeable jump due to tight supply," said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy.
The national price of diesel has dropped by 2.39 cents in the last week, and is sitting at $5.28 per gallon. In Idaho, the average cost for a gallon of diesel is $5.335; that is 34 cents higher than the previous month and $1.389 higher than a year ago, according to a recent AAA report.
Because diesel fuels so many of the trains, commercial trucks and ships that deliver goods for manufacturing and consumption around the country, the stubbornly high price of diesel raises concerns that inflation will persist.
Recent data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration showed that, for the week ending Oct. 21, the U.S. diesel supply had dropped to about 25 days worth. However, De Haan and other experts say claims that the U.S. is about to run out of diesel fuel are "completely inaccurate." The EIA metric measures the days' worth of supplies if U.S. refineries stopped producing oil and the industry also stopped importing it from other countries. Andrew Lipow of Lipow Oil Associates in Houston explained that the metric is calculated by taking U.S. inventory and dividing it by daily demand.
The cheapest gas in Boise was priced at $4.13 per gallon while the most expensive station was sitting at $4.99 per gallon, a difference of 86 cents. The lowest-priced gas in the state was sitting at $3.94 per gallon, while the highest was $4.99, a difference of $1.05.
Nationally, the average price of gasoline has fallen by 4.7 cents per gallon in the last week, coming out to $3.72 per gallon. That is 3 cents less per gallon compared to a month ago, and 34.4 cents higher than a year ago, according to GasBuddy.
Neighboring areas and their current average gas prices:
- Ogden - $4.09/g, down 5.3 cents per gallon from last week's $4.14/g
- Oregon - $4.90/g, down 14.9 cents per gallon from last week's $5.05/g
"The national average is closing in on the previous low from September, which was interrupted when refinery issues caused prices to skyrocket in the West and Great Lakes. With those issues addressed, the West has seen prices plummet, including a nearly 90 cent per gallon decline in California in less than a month," De Haan said. "Compare that to the Northeast, where prices have jumped some 10-25 cents per gallon, demonstrating there's much regionality to current gasoline price trends. Add in diesel prices that remain high amidst extremely tight supply, and there's definitely some challenges that lie ahead."
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