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Tuesday, October 14, 2008 10:43 AM Gas prices slipping, but still above nation Average in Wilson is $3.45 per gallon By Eddie Fitzgerald | Times Staff Writer Despite the gloomy economy, one recent ray of hope is the declining gasoline prices, which experts say may continue to fall even further in the coming days. At some gasoline pumps in Wilson prices have dropped as much as 22 cents during the past week, and prices as low as $3.35 a gallon could be found Monday afternoon. Carol Gifford, public relations manager for AAA Carolinas, said Monday that Wilson's average price per gallon of unleaded gasoline was $3.45, which was 5 cents cheaper than the state average of $3.50 per gallon. "It's one good sign in an otherwise very sluggish economy for consumers right now," Gifford said. Gasoline prices are dropping not only locally and statewide, but nationally, Gifford said. "While it is really good news for motorists, the reasons are not so good," she said. "This is tied to the economic slump and the downturn in the economy." Although the price of gasoline is falling, North Carolina still has the highest prices in the country, Gifford said. "That's still based on our hurricane hangover," she said. Hurricanes Ike and Gustav caused a severe shortage of gas for North Carolina when refineries shut down in Texas and Louisiana. Gas in Wilson was still 24 cents higher than the national average Monday. The national average was $3.21 per gallon Monday and had dropped to $3.16 by this morning. Gifford said she is confident that the gasoline prices in Wilson and the state will continue to drop as well. "The price is consistently falling a few pennies every day," she said. "We expect they will continue falling, probably through another month or two because we don't see any turnarounds in the economy in the near future." Rex Edwards of Wilson County said he was glad to see the declining gasoline prices while he was topping off his truck's gas tank Monday at a Hess station on Ward Boulevard. "I think it is great," Edwards said. "I still don't think it is where it should be, but it is getting better." Edwards, who was paying $3.39 per gallon for the gas, said he was not sure why the prices had fallen recently. "I don't know if it is the stock market bring them down," he said. "But I think it is the economy." Even with the lower prices, Edwards, who is a minister and spends a lot of time on the road, said he was still not traveling more and would continue being conservative with his driving. "I hope the prices keep falling," he said. "This is hurting everybody." Stacey Green, manager of Sheetz on Forest Hills Road, said he was also glad to see the gas prices falling and said the number of customers is picking back up. Last month, Sheetz was having a hard time even getting gas for its pumps and many of them had bags over their nozzles, as did several stations in Wilson. Although he did not know how many more customers were buying gas at Sheetz now that the price has slipped to $3.35, more people have been taking advantage of the lower prices for the past week, he said. "The customers are glad that it is going down," Green said. "It is getting reasonable now." eddie@wilsontimes.com | 265-7820 |
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