Cheaper gas cheers up local drivers

By Amanda Flitter
Staff Writer

October 08, 2008 10:48 pm

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GLOUCESTER — Cape Ann drivers are seeing some welcome new numbers at area gas pumps these days.

They are twos — and they're popping up in the dollar side of several local stations' price columns, with prices at a number of locations falling below the $3-per-gallon mark for regular unleaded fuel.

The sudden drop in local prices hit Tuesday, when the Phillips 66 on Pine Street in Manchester and Flanagan's at Rogers and Main streets in Gloucester posted prices of $2.99 a gallon. The Phillips price was lowered to $2.97 yesterday.

Local prices dipped as low as $2.95 a gallon, found at Bailey's Service Station on Summer Street in Manchester, and at one of the two U.S. Petroleum stations on Washington Street in Gloucester yesterday. Several other stations yesterday were hovering at $2.99 a gallon.

Cape Ann's prices — which, like those in much of the nation, soared above the $4-a-gallon mark this spring and summer — seem to be ahead of the downward curve. According to the Energy Information Administration at the U.S. Department of Energy in Washington, D.C., the national average gas price dropped to $3.48 a gallon this week, marking the third straight week of falling prices.

Massachusetts residents are getting a better bargain, but the state average yesterday was $3.31 a gallon. Even before this week's drop, prices at a number of Cape Ann stations teetered around the $3.25 mark last weekend.

"Crude prices have been falling as the global economy has been slowing," Neil Gamson, a spokesman for the Energy Information Administration, said Tuesday. He said the price for a barrel of crude oil has fallen to around $90 because of worries about future demand. Crude oil was as high as $145 a barrel earlier this year, and lower prices for crude translates to lower prices from distributors to local retailers.

Flannagan's in Gloucester lowered its prices to $2.99 a gallon Tuesday and held steady at $2.99 yesterday. Karen Kennedy, wife of the owner of Flannagan's, said word of the low prices spread quickly, prompting people from as far away as Peabody to drive into the station.

With the stock market going down, Kennedy said "things are dropping."

"We try to pass on whatever we can," she said of the lower prices.

Lucimar Sousa, manager at Bailey's Service Station on Summer Street in Manchester, said business has been busy, and there have even been lines to get gas. Yesterday, the price was $2.95 a gallon, down from $2.99 the day before.

She said many customers leave happy and say they haven't seen gas prices so low in a long time.

Kennedy has also noticed a change in people's moods.

"When gas prices were so high, the average consumer, unfortunately, was unhappy," she said. Now the average person, she said, is happier.

One of those filling up at Flanagan's yesterday was Bruce Steingraber, visiting from San Diego.

He said he was thrilled to find sub-$3 prices. He said that, in California, prices remain closer to $3.74 to $3.79 a gallon. Even at that price, he said, Californians have been happy because gas used to cost much more than $4. When a local resident told him that prices below $3 were unusual, he really felt lucky.

"Maybe I should play the Lotto!" he said.

Jane Selig of Gloucester said she had heard about falling gas prices, but didn't realize they had dropped so much. She said she doesn't follow prices too closely since her husband usually fills up the car, so she was surprised at the pump.

However, those with memories of gas prices past recognize under $3 a gallon is still a far cry from cheap. The current national average is still 71 cents above the national average of a year ago, according to the Energy Information Administration.

Kennedy said it is ironic that people are so happy about the lower prices, because $2.99 a gallon is still high.

"It hasn't dropped enough for me yet," said Gloucester resident Joanne Oliver. "When it hits 85 cents a gallon, then I'll hoot and holler."

Kennedy said she would like to say that prices will continue to fall, but there is no way of knowing for certain.

"Our fingers — and toes — are crossed," she said.

Staff writer Tom Dalton contributed to this report by Amanda Flitter. They can be reached at gt_reporter@gloucestertimes.com.

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