Cost of fuel moderates in Carson, nationally

Gasoline prices at several Carson City gas stations dipped below $3.30 a gallon this week for unleaded regular, joining a national trend of moderation in fuel costs.

The price for regular at JM Gasoline, a gas station and convenience store at 1321 N. Carson St., and at Costco on the city’s south side was $3.279 a gallon about noon Wednesday. Various stations pegged it at $3.299, among them the Arco ampm stations around the city and Golden Gate Petroleum across the street west of the Arco outlet at East William Street and Lompa Lane.

“I like it down low,” said Shari Morris of Carson City, who works at Golden Gate. She said the price dropped to $3.299 on Tuesday, down three cents, and that the number of partons purchasing gas had picked up since.

The Valero station outside Save Mart at 3620 N. Carson St. posted unleaded regular at $3.399, while Shell and Chevron stations were a bit higher. Bob’s Shell at 705 N. Carson St. had regular at $3.559, but the Shell stations across from the Carson Mall to the south and at Carson and Long streets to the north were at $3.599. The Chevron station at Carson and William streets also was charging $3.599.

The moderating trend has continued through the post-vacation and early-fall period, prompting GasBuddy.com to say “prices fell as steadily as the leaves” from trees.

GasBuddy.com tracks national price trends and provides averages, plus a heat map showing variations in different locales.

“As a snapshot of the month’s steadily decreasing prices,” the site said of October, “the highest gasoline average occurred on the first day of the month ($3.420 gal) and the lowest on the last day ($3.285 gal).”

It also reported that every day last month had a lower price than the same day the previous year, “bringing the streak of days when the price was lower than the same day last year to 86 straight.”

GasBuddy said the trend downward might continue, if history is any guide. It said that over the past 13 years, 10 Novembers averaged a lower monthly price than in October of those same years. The years were 2000-06, 2008, and 2011-12.