Gas prices dip slightly in Colorado Springs ahead of July Fourth holiday

Colorado Springs gas prices are falling just in time for the July Fourth holiday.

But don’t get too excited. Local prices have dropped by just a few pennies and remain at near record levels. And though there could be some stretches of modest relief over the next several weeks, high prices are here to stay through the summer, industry experts say.

"We could see some relief mixed in here and there," said Patrick DeHaan, head of petroleum analysis for online price tracking service GasBuddy.com. "For Colorado Springs and really, the country, we're going to see elevated prices likely to stick around. We'll be over $4 a gallon for a solid majority of the summer, if not longer. 

"We've seen prices inching down the last couple of weeks nationally," he said. "It's not impossible that you'll see a trend, a downward trend emerge here and there. But it may be the exception, not the norm."

Gas prices averaged $4.921 for a gallon of unleaded regular Tuesday in Colorado Springs, according to GasBuddy. That's down 2.6 cents from the record high of $4.947 on June 19, GasBuddy figures show.

AAA, the nationwide travel service, also showed per-gallon prices averaged $4.921 in the Springs on Tuesday. That was down 2.7 cents from the record of $4.948 on June 20, according to AAA.

Drivers elsewhere might have seen prices decline by several cents more. The national average for unleaded regular stood at $4.874 a gallon Tuesday, down 15.3 cents from a record $5.027 on June 14, GasBuddy reported.

AAA figures show a similar trend; nationally, prices averaged $4.881 on Tuesday, down 13.5 cents from a record $5.016 set June 14. 

Springs-area prices haven't dropped as much, in part because of tight gas supplies in the Rocky Mountains, DeHaan said.

Gas costs have inched downward, however, thanks to lower global oil prices and the return of an ExxonMobil oil refinery in Billings, Mont., that serves the region and was shut down in late March because of a fire, he said.

DeHaan said it's possible Colorado Springs prices could continue to improve this weekend.

AAA Colorado spokesman Skyler McKinley, however, warned that prices could actually inch up again as the July Fourth holiday draws closer.

In fact, drivers along Interstate 25 and Interstate 70 might see larger spikes, since those corridors carry thousands of holiday travelers, he said.

"If you're not traveling along a major tourist corridor, your favorite service station probably won't see big increases," McKinley said. "There will be some upward pressure, but it's going to be a couple cents here, a couple cents there, versus the 10- to 15- to 20-cent increases we see along major tourist corridors.

"Obviously, be strategic in how you fill up," he said. "Don't use gas stations right next to the highway; they're advertising for different travelers than folks who might be staying home. But look, really, statewide, we're pretty consistently hitting that $4.90 mark. The good news there is that it shows some stability. The bad news is, that stability is, of course, a record high."

For the rest of the summer, McKinley said softening demand and recession fears might dampen prices, but not in a major way until there's more gas supply.

"Expect prices in this $5 range as we approach Labor Day," McKinley said. "There might be drop-offs, depending on a gas-tax holiday, depending on softening demand. But they won't be significant. There's no significant decrease in sight until the supply side gets sorted out."

GasBuddy's DeHaan said two weeks worth of data is due to be released soon from the U.S. Energy Information Administration that will show the status of nationwide gas supplies. A decline could lead to another boost in pump prices, he said.

And while some stretches of price relief are possible, a major hurricane that forces a Gulf of Mexico refinery shutdown could jolt the energy industry and quickly lead to "kind of a super spike" in gas costs, DeHaan warned.

"Hopefully, we won't see it," he said. "But ... supply is not exactly plentiful. That's a concern that I have, that if we see (refinery) shutdowns, it could very quickly cascade into higher prices."