Gas prices have likely hit their spring peak and should continue to ease as Memorial Day weekend approaches, an industry analyst said Monday.
In Durango, retail gasoline prices have been relatively stable. Gas prices fell 2 cents in the past month, according to AAA’s Daily Fuel Gauge Report.
Local gas cost $3.416 Monday on average, down a fraction of a cent from the weekend. That’s also down slightly from a year ago.
Cheaper prices were not difficult to find locally. Peerless Tyre Co. appeared to have the cheapest gas Monday, with regular at $3.349 – don’t forget about that pesky nine-tenths of a cent.
Also on north Main Avenue, Valero and 7-2-11 were close behind at $3.359. Everyday, at College Drive and East Eighth Avenue, advertised $3.399 per gallon.
Drivers said they pay little mind to gas prices, seeing it as an unavoidable cost.
Randy Schultz of Durango said gas prices weighed “not at all” in his driving decisions.
“I like old cars and driving old cars,” he said as he filled his 1965 MG sports car. “That’s just part of the penalty you pay for enjoyment.”
Schultz’s British coupe gets in the “mid-30s” for gas mileage, he said. That makes it a gas-sipper compared to the vehicle filling up next to him at Peerless Tyre Co., a large RV driven by John Rowe of Washougal, Washington. Rowe, who has been on vacation in Durango for several days, said Durango is blessed with relatively affordable gas.
“I’d say it’s close to 40 cents higher on the coast,” he said. “It’s actually been a relief to get closer to the middle of the country.”
Federal data bears out Rowe’s observations. Gas is most expensive on the West Coast (averaging $4.055), and least expensive on the Gulf Coast ($3.465). The Rocky Mountain region had the second-cheapest gas ($3.501), according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s weekly survey released Monday.
Rowe said gas prices did not figure heavily in his decision to drive across the West for a birthday celebration in Durango.
“It’s just one of those things you prepare for, especially when you’re driving this,” he said, referring to the RV that was pulling a Jeep.
GasBuddy.com forecast in a news release Monday that prices nationwide will decline by 3 to 10 cents on average by Memorial Day.
That could be good news for Durango’s all-important tourism industry. Industry professionals say many of Durango’s tourists come from driving-distance markets such as Albuquerque, Denver and Phoenix.
Jack Llewellyn, executive director of the Durango Chamber of Commerce, said cheaper gas prices may give tourists more money to spend on restaurants and gifts this summer.
“The trends are definitely looking up,” he said.
cslothower@durangoherald.com
