Average gas price in Missouri climbs 8.5 cents

The average retail price for gasoline in Missouri is up 8.5 cents from a month ago, according to the latest energy bulletin from the Missouri Department of Natural Resources.

The price per gallon as of Feb. 16 was $1.78 per gallon, down $1.09 from February 2008.

The average price for diesel fuel was $2.04, down 11.6 cents from a month ago and down $1.37 from a year ago. The average price for retail E-85 fuel was $1.68, up 8 cents from a month ago and down 66 cents from a year ago.

U.S. crude oil prices fell 21 percent in the last month, as the country's oil supplies have grown in 18 of the past 21 weeks, according to the report. Crude oil values are down 11 percent since Jan. 1 and down 53 percent from the same time last year.

OPEC cut oil production by 3.5 percent in January, and domestic fuel demand in the last four weeks averaged 19.95 million barrels per day, down slightly from a year ago, the report said. Domestic energy demand remains relatively weak on continued economic concerns.

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