MO gas prices rise 2 cents in run up to holiday

Between Dec. 17 and Dec. 24, average retail gasoline prices in Missouri have risen 2.1 cents per gallon to $2.97, but the state’s consumers are still fairing better than most across the country. As of this morning, the Show-Me state ranked No. 2 in the nation for the lowest average gasoline price at $2.99 per gallon, according to gas trackers GasBuddy.com. Oklahoma posted the least expensive gas in the country on average at $2.97 per gallon.

The national average, which did not move in the week before Christmas, remained steady at $3.24 per gallon as of Dec. 26. Hawaii sold the most expensive gas among the 50 states, posting an average of $3.93 per gallon.

According to a Dec. 24 GasBuddy.com news release, prices in Missouri were 1.2 cents per gallon lower than the same day in 2011 and are 17.9 cents per gallon lower than a month ago. The national average has decreased 19.1 cents per gallon during the last month and stands 1.3 cents per gallon higher than the same day last year.

"Gasoline prices in six out of the last seven years have increased between Christmas Day and Jan. 15 of the following year," GasBuddy.com senior petroleum analyst Patrick DeHaan said in the release. "If the national average rises to at least $3.26 per gallon before New Year's Day, it will mark the highest start for gas prices ever on the first day of the year."

As of 10:50 a.m., the least expensive gas price in Missouri, $2.75 per gallon, was offered at a Costco filling station in south St. Louis County, according to MissouriGasPrices.com, which manages a daily survey of 3,940 gas outlets in Missouri. The highest priced gasoline in the state was sold for $3.59 per gallon at a filling station in Cape Girarduau. In Springfield, the Sam’s Club at 745 W. El Camino Alto Drive offered the lowest priced gas in town at $2.90.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil was trading at $88.75 as of 10:54 a.m., which is down 8 cents from one month ago, but up nearly $2 from $86.81 compared to Dec. 17, according to Springfield Business Journal archives.
Light sweet crude oil futures for February were trading at $90.79 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.