Gas prices continue to decrease despite last week’s announcement by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries that members will cut oil output by 2 million barrels a day. An Oct. 13 Consumer Price Index Report by the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows the gasoline index fell 4.9% in September from the previous month, which comes on the heels of a 10.6% decrease in August. The report shows that natural gas and electricity indexes increased last month on top of a 19.8% increase in the energy index over the past 12 months.
Despite the increase in natural gas and electricity indexes, and an 8.2% increase in all items over the last 12 months (ending Sept. 22), gas prices continue to decrease across the U.S. month-over-month, and New Mexico is no exception. The Energy Information Administration reported Oct. 13 that a decrease in national demand is helping to keep prices low, as well as fluctuating oil prices. According to AAA data, the national average for regular unleaded was $3.90 a gallon and New Mexico’s average $3.78 a gallon as of Friday morning.
Gas prices in Albuquerque are down from a week ago but have risen slightly since last month and are about 56 cents more than they were a year ago. Here’s a look at prices from select stations in the far northeast part of the city:
• The 7-Eleven/ALON station at 7843 Tramway Blvd. was charging $3.76 a gallon for regular unleaded Friday morning, an increase from last week’s $3.60 a gallon. The station was charging $4.16 for mid-grade, $4.56 for premium, and $4.86 for a gallon of diesel, also up since last week.
• The price of regular unleaded at the Circle K/Phillips 66 at 6951 San Antonio Drive dropped 15 cents since last week, now at $3.75 a gallon. Mid-grade was $4.25, premium $4.55, and diesel $4.90 a gallon.
• A gallon of regular unleaded at the Circle K/Phillips 66 gas station at 5501 Alameda Blvd. dropped from $3.90 to $3.80 a gallon over the last week. Mid-grade decreased from $4.40 to $4.30, and premium decreased 10 cents to $4.60 a gallon. Diesel increased 10 cents to $4.96 a gallon.
• The Chevron at 5980 Alameda Blvd. was charging $3.90 for a gallon of regular, the same as last week. Mid-grade also stayed the same at $4.36 a gallon, as did premium, still at $4.77 a gallon. Prices for all grades were more than 24 hours old, according to Google Maps.
*Prices are rounded down to the nearest penny using AAA and Google Maps data.
