Oil prices plunge, but motorists not getting much relief at pump

By ROD WALTON World Staff Writer
Published: 8/9/2011  2:26 AM
Last Modified: 8/9/2011  3:58 AM

Crude oil futures fell to their lowest level in nearly a year Monday, but Tulsa gasoline prices are still clinging to an average that was charged when a barrel cost close to $20 more.

"With markets the way they are, it's anybody's guess on what they're going to do," AAA-Oklahoma spokesman Danial Karnes said. "It's all over the board."

That board is making a steep downhill run at the moment. West Texas Intermediate crude oil for September delivery dropped $5.57 on Monday to settle at $81.31 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

The closing crude price is the lowest since it settled at $80.05 on Aug. 31, 2010. The one-year high for WTI was $114.83 per barrel on April 29.

Tulsa retail gasoline, meanwhile, is not falling by the same leaps and bounds. The Tulsa average reported by AAA is $3.44 per gallon, but it was closer to $2.50 when domestic crude oil was last around $80.

"Gas prices aren't always logical," Karnes said. "But logic tells us if oil continues to fall, then gas prices should continue to fall as well."

The price at many QuikTrip stations in Tulsa was $3.39 on Monday afternoon. The QuikTrip price at the end of last August - the last time crude oil was anywhere near this low - was $2.46 per gallon. 

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