Gas prices remain high in Alaska while falling nationally

Final week, the White Home introduced U.S. fuel costs had been falling for over a month, marking a few of the quickest value declines in a decade. In keeping with AAA, the nationwide common Tuesday was $4.33 a gallon, down from the mid-June peak of simply over $5.

However whereas fuel costs throughout the nation have been steadily reducing since they peaked mid-June, Alaska drivers haven’t been so fortunate.

Alaska’s statewide common continues to be $5.21 at the moment. In Kenai, most fuel stations are promoting round $5.55.

Brent Hibbert owns and operates Alaska Cab on Kalifornsky Seashore Highway. He stated the excessive costs have been affecting the corporate’s cab drivers, who pay for their very own gas.

“It’s most likely costing them $25 to $30 further a day. We needed to elevate our charges, which we didn’t need to, however we did,” he stated.

Alaska has been coping with these larger fuel costs for longer than most. Forbes reported earlier this month that the state was amongst a handful the place fuel costs had been falling the least.

Larry Persily, a longtime Alaska oil trade observer, stated fuel stock turnover at each pumps and refineries in Alaska is slower than it’s elsewhere within the nation, which may account for the lag.

However on the whole, Alaska gasoline costs are usually larger than these within the Decrease 48. Persily stated that’s associated to the comparatively small oil refinery that provides Alaska fuel stations, and the proportionally larger power prices that include it.

“The one substantial refinery in Alaska in Nikiski does tens of hundreds of barrels of oil a day, whereas the extremely environment friendly refiners within the Decrease 48 do a whole lot of hundreds of barrels a day,” he stated.

Persily additionally stated metropolis and borough gross sales taxes in Kenai and Soldotna add 6% to any gas prices inside town limits. This retains them pricier than, say, in Anchorage, the place metropolis taxes solely add 10 cents a gallon.

Excessive fuel costs are driving folks out of the cities and into the small city of Cooper Touchdown, the place surprisingly low costs are maintaining gas pump proprietor Arden Rankins busy.

“We’re promoting a lot of it, it’s unbelievable,” she stated.

At simply $5.01 at the moment, the costs on the Dawn Inn fuel pump are drawing motorists from across the peninsula with their low costs, together with these with motorhomes and campers, which Rankins stated has by no means occurred earlier than.

“We’re promoting a lot fuel that we’re getting fuel delivered day by day or each second day,” she stated.

Rankins stated that she’s simply utilizing the method that the enterprise often depends on to calculate their gas prices. She stated her low costs are particularly stunning, as a result of getting gas all the best way out to Cooper Touchdown is simply costlier than bringing it to cities like Anchorage and Soldotna.

“As an alternative of constructing a revenue on a very excessive value, we’re doing very properly with the lower cost and the method that we’ve at all times used, and the numbers are making us some huge cash,” Rankins stated.

Analysts predict that prices nationwide will proceed to drop. And whereas Alaska’s costs aren’t dropping fairly so quick, they’re falling, slowly.

At a Speedway Categorical in Nikiski, for instance, a retailer clerk stated costs are declining by just some cents per week. At present, the station’s marquis clocked in at $5.59 a gallon.