Gas prices across Colorado averaged $3.77 per gallon this week, down 27.2 cents from the prior week, according to a recent GasBuddy survey of 2,158 stations.
Yet, Durango prices remained well above $4.
Skyler McKinley, regional director of public affairs for AAA Colorado, said less competition and higher delivery costs associated with the area’s rural structure are to blame.
“Competition is the No. 1 pressure that forces prices downward, and you have less of that (in Durango),” he said.
Because it costs more to ship gasoline to rural areas like Durango, gas suppliers must factor in and offset those costs in ways Front Range stations don’t, McKinley said.
“If you don’t have a ton of competition, and you’re already getting close to being underwater on what you put in your big tanks underground, (you) tend to be slower (to) lower your prices, just because you’re trying to get made whole on what you already spent,” he said.
Gas prices in rural areas like Durango will often be higher than those in metropolitan areas like Denver, McKinley said. But as gas prices come down nationally, the trend will eventually reach rural areas – assuming the economy stays on track and shipments through the Straight of Hormuz continue to flow, he said.
“I would caution against saying gas prices will do X by Y because of Z, because there are about a billion different Z’s that get in between X and Y,” he said. “But the downward pressure should persist and will benefit Durango. It will just take a little bit longer. And hey, you’re a lot cheaper than your friends in Pitkin County, for example, who at some stations are still north of $5.”
Average prices across Colorado are 92 cents per gallon lower than a month ago – but 69.4 cents per gallon higher than a year ago at the same time, GasBuddy reported.
epond@durangoherald.com
