The pain consumers feel at the gas pump is likely to ease slowly during the course of the summer travel season.
Gas prices peaked last month at an average $2.90 per gallon in Durango and are now likely to decline a penny or two per week until Labor Day, said Skyler McKinley, a spokesman for AAA.
Peak gas prices in Montezuma County were likely similar, although McKinley did not have historical data for the communities in that area, he said.
The average price is now $2.86 per gallon in Durango, a bit higher than Denver’s average price of $2.77 per gallon. However, Durango’s average is on par with the rest of the state, according to AAA data.
The decline in gas prices is driven, in part, by low crude oil prices that have dropped because of the economic uncertainty caused by global trade tensions, McKinley said.
As a result, major industries aren’t investing in fuel for ships and trucking lines, McKinley said.
“People aren’t confident about what they are going to be able to produce, where they are going to ship it and the price they are going to pay,” he said.
While a decline in prices is the most likely scenario, national demand and hurricanes could drive up prices, according to AAA.
Hurricanes in the Gulf Coast that threaten refineries can drive up prices until normal production operations resume.
Demand for fuel over the summer may reach some of the highest levels ever recorded because consumers have confidence in the economy and are receiving higher wages.
“People have pretty good confidence in the economy so they are more willing to travel. When they travel, they are willing to travel longer distances,” he said.
The demand could drive up prices, if supply can’t keep up, McKinley said.
At the same time, consumers have a higher tolerance for high gas prices than they have had in the past, AAA found in a recent survey.
In 2016, 50% of respondents said $2.50 per gallon was “too high.” Now consumers consider $3 to be “too high,” AAA found.
mshinn@durangoherald.com
