Oil Watchdog

This is how San Diegans now spell relief: $3.31.

That was the average price per gallon yesterday for regular
gasoline in the county, down 6 cents over the past week and down 19
cents from last month’s all-time high, according to the Utility
Consumers’ Action Network, a local advocacy group.

Prices are now even lower than last year at this time, when the regional average for regular gasoline was $3.38 per gallon.

While welcoming the lower prices, one consumer advocate said there was no reason to celebrate.

"The fact that we can consider a sigh of relief (at current
prices) is a testament to the oil industry’s ability to make us believe
in a new normal for gasoline prices," said Judy Dugan, research
director of Oilwatchdog.org, a project of the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights in Santa Monica.

Dugan added that with crude-oil prices rising, gas prices could
soon begin rising, too. She noted that California motorists are still
paying about 20 cents more per gallon than the national average.

Tupper Hull, a spokesman for the Western States Petroleum
Association, said declining prices probably reflect an increase in
refinery production and inventories across the state.

"Production is coming back to more normal ranges," Hull said.

The petroleum trade group argues that gasoline prices are the
result of a competitive market, subject to the laws of supply and
demand.

The most recent data from the California Energy Commission
indicate that the state’s refinery output is increasing but is still
below its levels of a year ago. Gasoline inventories have also been
rising, however, and are about 11 percent above levels last year at
this time.

As prices rose this spring, the Energy Information
Administration noted that the nation suffered an unusual number of
planned and unplanned refinery outages, reducing the supply of
gasoline.