Gas prices stabilize after uptick during New Year’s week

Sacramento-area gas prices, which inched upward just hours after the turn of the new year, have settled down.

The average retail price of gasoline prices in the area fell 1.8 cents over the past week to $2.54 a gallon., 36.1 cents lower than last month and $1.01 below the year-ago level, according to national gas price tracker GasBuddy.com, which surveys more than 700 Sacramento-area stations daily.

Monday’s price matched the average price that GasBuddy reported last Friday Between New Year’s Day and Friday, local gas prices went up two cents, the first time prices had risen in weeks. Experts called the uptick a subdued response to the state’s new requirement that oil companies buy credits to offset the carbon emitted by cars and trucks. The industry was included in California’s cap-and-trade market effective Jan. 1.

State officials said they expect cap-and-trade to ultimately boost gas prices by about 10 cents a gallon. The oil industry fears spikes as high as 76 cents a gallon.

On Monday, GasBuddy said prices were “stable.”

Patrick DeHaan, GasBuddy’s senior petroleum analyst, said “the party is nearing an end for falling gasoline prices,” but for now, at-the-pump costs “have stayed at their bargain basement levels in most states.”

The national average retail price of gas Monday was $2.19 a gallon, down 7.7 cents from last week, 52.8 cents from last month and $1.12 from last year.

This story was originally published January 5, 2015 at 1:00 AM with the headline "Gas prices stabilize after uptick during New Year’s week."