Although motorists topped off their cars for an average of $2.41
per gallon over the long holiday weekend, it didn’t discourage
Hollister drivers from shelling out the cash and braving the
roadways to visit friends and families or simply enjoy the extra
day off.
Hollister – Although motorists topped off their cars for an average of $2.41 per gallon over the long holiday weekend, it didn’t discourage Hollister drivers from shelling out the cash and braving the roadways to visit friends and families or simply enjoy the extra day off.
As of Monday, the average price for regular unleaded gasoline in Hollister was $2.41 per gallon – lower than what service stations have posted recently. However, on the average it is two cents higher than the average price of $2.39 in April.
Local gas prices changed several times over the weekend, according to the San Felipe Road Quik Stop Market Inc. employee Del Rae Harrold. Regular unleaded at her station was priced at $2.41 on Friday, dropped to $2.39 over the weekend and was down to $2.37 Monday, she said.
In the nation, the average gasoline price for all grades tumbled 6 cents in two weeks, continuing a slide in pump prices that began last month, an industry analyst said last week.
The slight drop in ever-increasing fuel prices lured some motorists, like Hollister resident Natalie Kiely, out of the house and onto the road over the holiday.
Kiely said the high prices didn’t keep her from traveling over the long weekend, and even if they do continue to increase she doesn’t expect it would derail any trips she might take over the summer.
“It does suck that they’re high, but what are you going to do about it?” she said. “Everybody has to buy gas.”
While Hollister drivers paid $2.41 per gallon Monday, the average retail price for all three grades in the nation dropped 6.37 cents to $2.18 per gallon between May 6 and May 20, said Trilby Lundberg, who publishes the semimonthly Lundberg Survey of 7,000 gas stations around the country.
The most popular grade, self-serve regular, was priced at $2.15 a gallon, while customers paid $2.25 for midgrade. Premium averaged $2.35 a gallon for the period nationwide.
Average gasoline prices spiked 49 cents per gallon between Jan. 1 and April 8, when prices began to drop as a result of several factors including an increased supply of both crude oil and gasoline and the completion of some maintenance projects that had reduced capacity at the nation’s refineries.
Oil prices began skyrocketing in March, hitting a peak of $57.27 a barrel at the beginning of April. Prices have dropped since and now hover above $47 a barrel.
The highest average gas price in the nation for regular unleaded among the stations surveyed was $2.51 a gallon in San Francisco. The lowest was $1.94 in Jackson, Miss.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Erin Musgrave covers public safety for the Free Lance. Reach her at 637-5566, ext. 336 or [email protected]
