Gas prices drop slightly

Average retail gasoline prices in Washington have fallen 2.2 cents per gallon in the past week, averaging $3.35 pergallon Sunday, according to GasBuddy's daily survey of 2,666 gas outlets in Washington. This compares with the national average that has fallen 0.6 cents per gallon in the last week to $3.26 per gallon, according to gasoline price website GasBuddy.com.

Including the change in gas prices in Washington during the past week, prices Sunday were 9.2 cents per gallon lower than the same day one year ago and are 0.4 cents per gallon higher than a month ago. The national average has decreased 1.4 cents per gallon during the last month and stands 8.7 cents per gallon lower than this day one year ago.

"The holiday buzz is wearing off and wholesale gasoline prices have fizzled. It appears that this year there will be little change in gas prices between Christmas and mid-January, something that has only happened one out of the last seven years," said GasBuddy.com Senior Petroleum Analyst Patrick DeHaan. "Gasoline inventories have rebounded sharply in the past several weeks, certainly a major factor behind the relatively stable gasoline prices. It's hard for prices to rally with the monster increases in supply we've been seeing," DeHaan said.

About GasBuddy

GasBuddy operates WashingtonGasPrices.com and over 250 similar websites that track gasoline prices at over 140,000 gasoline stations in the United States and Canada. In addition, GasBuddy offers a free smartphone app, which has been downloaded over 25 million times to help motorists find the lowest gasoline prices in their area.

Editor’s Note: This article first appeared on www.hometowndebate.com 1/14/13. If you would like to respond to this story go to hometowndebate.com