Published: October 13, 2008 09:55 pm         

Vigo drivers rejoice as gas prices tank

Drivers fill up for less than $3 a gallon as oil falls to less than $80 per barrel

TERRE HAUTE — A long summer of high gas prices gave way to some relief over the weekend, as unleaded gasoline fell below $3 a gallon in the Wabash Valley.

Terre Haute residents were filling up on Monday around town, where prices for regular unleaded gas could be found for between $2.95 and $2.99.

The price of oil fell to less than $80 per barrel at the end of last week, when it closed on the New York Mercantile Exchange at $77.70 per barrel, its lowest price since September 2007.

According to the AAA auto club’s daily fuel gauge report, regular unleaded was selling on average in Indiana for $3.07 per gallon Monday.

Nationally, the average was $3.21 for a gallon of regular unleaded.

It was early March when unleaded gas prices hit a record national average of $3.23, and the summer saw those figures climb to a record price of $4.12 on July 17.

The reason for falling prices could be fluctuations in the economy as well as a lower demand for oil, according to the Oil Price Information Service.

Through the summer, families chose to take fewer trips, commuters considered downsizing vehicles and many grumbled at every $50, $60 or $100 fillup.

Some, such as Terre Haute resident Linda May, had to “cut back in other places,” she said, in order to afford her 100-mile daily drive to Bloomington and back.

“I didn’t drive as much, I planned my trips around town,” she said.

May, who was filling up at Baesler’s gas station on the city’s east side Monday, said she thinks the lower prices are because of the upcoming presidential election.

“I think it’s politics right now,” she said, smiling. But whatever the reason, May said she is happy to see the change. “I’d like to see them keep coming down,” she added.

That was a common sentiment at the pumps, where some wondered about the difference in prices in Terre Haute compared with those in other Indiana cities.

Ryan All, 32, of Terre Haute, said he had been to cities nearby and seen wild variations in gas prices.

“I noticed in Bloomfield it was $3.24 and $3.34, so how could it be higher there, and $2.90 something in Spencer, and how can it be $2.60-something in Plainfield and here in Terre Haute, 58 miles away, it’s $2.95?” All asked.

The answer to that question is not clear, but according to the Web site www.indianagasprices.com, prices ranged from $2.59 per gallon in Martinsville, Ind., up to $3.31 in Bedford on Monday.

All said the lower prices were a welcome sight. “It makes it nice because I like to go places, and it’s kind of depressing when gas prices are so high,” he said.

“I hope it goes down lower,” All added. “The lower, the better.”



Deb Kelly can be reached at (812) 231-4254 or deb.kelly@tribstar.com.