Utah has lowest gasoline prices in country

Utah motorists, who paid some of the highest gasoline prices nationwide last fall, are enjoying the lowest pump prices in the country.

The average cost of a gallon of unleaded gasoline is $2.92, falling 24 cents from one month ago, travel-services agency AAA reported Tuesday. The state's average, which has been sliding for weeks, is a whopping 45 cents below the national average, AAA said.

Utah's pump prices rarely track the national average. Although in some years Utah has had among the lowest pump prices in winter months and some of the highest in summer, much of the time pump prices locally tend to move in the opposite way of national trends, sometimes in a completely unexplainable fashion.

Utah's prices are falling this month as those in other parts of the country are rising. Nationally, the unleaded average is up 9 cents from last month.

Utah's pump prices also are falling even as oil prices — a key factor in the prices consumers eventually pay for gasoline — have increased. The cost of a barrel rose Tuesday to nearly $102.

Utah's gasoline prices also tend to vary widely, even among stations in close proximity. On Tuesday, for example, some stations in the Salt Lake area were charging as little $2.69 to $2.70 per unleaded gallon, while a handful were charging more than $3 per gallon for the same grade of fuel, according to SaltLakeGasPrices.com, a website that monitors gas prices along the Wasatch Front. —

Utah gasoline prices

Current average • $2.92

Week ago • $2.95

Month ago • $3.16

Year ago • $2.80

Nationwide average

Current average • $3.37

Week ago • $3.28

Month ago • $3.28

Year ago • $3.09

Source • AAA