State gas average edges down

After nearly three months of price increases in 2012, the average price of gas in Missouri edged down slightly the past week.

During the week of March 26-April 1, Missouri gas prices fell 2.8 cents a gallon to an average of $3.75 yesterday, but that average was still 19.6 cents higher than a month ago and 26.7 cents higher than the same day a year ago, according to a GasBuddy.com news release.

This morning, the Missouri gas average had moved to $3.77 per gallon, earning it the No. 16 rank on GasBuddy.com's list of the lowest gas averages by state. With an average of $3.52 per gallon, Wyoming held the top spot for the lowest prices.

As of 10:24 a.m., a filling station in southern Kansas City had the least expensive gas in Missouri at $3.50 per gallon. In Springfield, the lowest price, $3.55 per gallon, was available at Sam's Club, 3660 E. Sunshine St., while myriad stations were selling gas at $3.59 per gallon, according to MissouriGasPrices.com.

The national gas average, which increased 3.2 cents during the past week to $3.89 per gallon, increased 18.6 cents during the last month and 26.8 cents during the last year.

"The national average has finally showed some signs of slowing down, and gasoline prices in dozens of areas have virtually stabilized after rising for two to three consecutive weeks," said GasBuddy.com Senior Petroleum Analyst Patrick DeHaan in the release. "The rally in gasoline prices started in March. We could have dubbed it March Madness to coincide with the flurry of college basketball games, but as the tournament winds down, gasoline prices too have slowed their increase, and maybe ... gasoline prices are closer to a peak than we initially expected."

West Texas Intermediate crude oil was trading at $103.89 per barrel as of 10:29 a.m., down from $107.09  a week ago. Light sweet crude oil futures for May were trading at $104.13 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, according to the CME Group.