Utah's gasoline prices dipped in recent months, but that decline has slowed since July 13, according to statistics released Tuesday by AAA Utah.
The average price for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline in the state was $1.89 Tuesday, down a penny from last month. A year ago, however, Utah motorists were forking over an average of $1.67 per gallon.
The state's average remained above the national figure, which is $1.86 per gallon. That's down 4 cents from July's average but still above last year's average of $1.59.
Cities included in the AAA Utah stats showed little change from a month ago. Unchanged were Moab's average of $1.98, Salt Lake's $1.82 and Vernal's $1.96. Ogden's average of $1.85 and Provo's average of $1.86 both were down 2 cents. St. George's average was down a penny to $1.95, while Logan's was up 2 cents to $1.89.
Among Western states, Wyoming's average was lowest, unchanged at $1.86 per gallon. Other regional decreases from last month were Idaho at $1.96, down a penny; Colorado, down a penny to $1.89; Arizona, down 7 cents to $1.88; Nevada, down a dime to $2; and California, down 14 cents to $2.09. Only Montana had an increase, up 2 cents to $2.
AAA Utah surveys a limited number of communities across the state in its monthly gasoline price survey, and the resulting figures are averages. Individual service stations sell gas at both higher and lower prices, sometimes even in the same city block.
AAA said a variety of factors have contributed to keeping crude oil prices high. They include rebellion in Iraq's southern oil-producing region disrupting planned exports through Turkey; ethnic strife in Nigeria that led to attacks on oil operations last year; a tax battle oil company Yukos faces with the Russian government; higher-than-predicted Asian demand, especially in China; and Hurricane Charley temporarily disrupting oil transports in the Gulf of Mexico.
"Global factors worked together this past month to push barrel prices to the highest level since oil futures were first offered on the exchange 21 years ago," said Rolayne Fairclough, AAA Utah spokeswoman.
"OPEC nations have promised to increase production to lower barrel prices. Oil watchers believe OPEC's production has reached full capacity and may not be able to quickly turn prices downward."
The situation actually worsened Tuesday, when oil prices set a new record, approaching $47 a barrel, as concerns about Iraqi and Russian output dominated markets that had been calmed a day earlier by the results of a vote in Venezuela.
Light crude for September delivery climbed 70 cents to a new settlement high of $46.75 on the New York Mercantile Exchange. On an inflation-adjusted basis, though, oil is still about $10, or 18 percent, cheaper than it was just prior to the first Gulf War.
The travails of Russian oil-giant Yukos took a turn for the worse Tuesday after a Russian court rejected the company's attempt to suspend government efforts to collect $3.4 billion in back taxes. Yukos pumps about 1.7 million barrels a day, and its legal troubles have raised concerns that productivity could suffer, and the company could be forced into bankruptcy.
And in Iraq on Tuesday fighting between U.S. troops and Shiite militants intensified, adding to the oil market's jitters.
"It's just more of the same," said Mike Fitzpatrick, a trader at Fimat USA in New York.<
Before the latest round of violence in Najaf, Iraq had been exporting roughly 1.7 million barrels of oil per day, although volumes have fallen recently to about 900,000 barrels per day, according to a source within the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Fitzpatrick said some traders were also responding Tuesday to economic data released by the government on Tuesday that showed a rise in housing construction and output at the nation's factories, suggesting that energy consumption would remain strong.
With little spare output capacity around the globe, analysts worry that oil producers would have a difficult time making up for shortfalls at a time of robust demand.
Contributing: Associated Press
E-mail: bwallace@desnews.com