If you’ve noticed Idaho’s gas prices edging up in the past week, you’re not alone. After hitting a low of $2.94 earlier this month, AAA Idaho reports the average price per gallon is now $3.06. But even though the rise in prices may not be welcome, it's not surprising.
Dave Carlson is with AAA Idaho. He says despite the recent 10 cent jump in prices, Southern Idaho’s oil and gas market isn’t experiencing anything unusual. He says we normally see our lowest prices in December and early January, when driver demand is low. Then prices begin to rise as the market fluctuates.
“A year ago Idaho’s average price was $3.05, today it’s $3.06," Carlson says, "a year ago the U.S. average price was $3.38, today it’s $3.33.”
Carlson says as part of the normal price cycle, speculation in the oil and gas industry plays a role this time of year.
“We see a lot of run-up in oil prices during the first two or three months of each year, we see a lot of hedge fund managers and anybody that can bid the price of oil up do so," says Carlson.
2012 was an expensive year at the pump. Gas prices in the state averaged $3.58 – a record high. So will Idahoans see another year of record highs?
“We don’t think so. But again, the market does what it does and it takes lots of its signals from what’s going on overseas.”
Carlson says gas stations will likely hear complaints from customers about the recent hike in prices, but there’s not much they can do about it. Southern Idaho gets its gas from a pipeline out of Salt Lake City. Since the state doesn’t have more choice, Idaho is subject to unpredictable jumps and drops.
But right now, Carlson says Idaho’s gas prices are in line with the rest of the Rocky Mountain region.
Copyright 2013 Boise State Public Radio