PROVIDENCE – The price of gasoline at pumps in the Ocean State has fallen 12 cents over the past three weeks, according to AAA Southern New England.
The auto club’s Aug. 22 survey found the average price of self-serve, regular gasoline was $3.74 per gallon, down 4 cents from last week’s average. Prices locally ranged from $3.56 to $3.87.
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In Massachusetts, the average price of regular gas fell 2 cents to $3.65 per gallon, as the national rate shed 3 cents to reach $3.57.
Meanwhile, gasoline fell on the New York Mercantile Exchange Monday morning, according to Bloomberg News.
Gasoline for September delivery fell 3.17 cents, or 1.1 percent, to $2.8095 a gallon at 9:44 a.m. on the exchange, on speculation that Libyan rebels will soon wrest control from Muammar Qaddafi and oil production will recover, Bloomberg said.
Prices sank as rebels swept into Tripoli and government spokesman Moussa Ibrahim said Qaddafi was ready to negotiate with Mustafa Abdel Jalil, the head of the rebel council, and asked for an immediate cease-fire. Higher Libyan output would make it cheaper for U.S. East Coast refiners, which buy crude of similar quality to that produced in Libya, to make fuel.
“Product prices have been tracking Brent prices for the past six months,” said Gene McGillian, an analyst and broker at Tradition Energy in Stamford, Conn. “Now there’s the possibility that situation is coming to a close and that once the rebels begin to take control, Libyan oil would make its way back to the market.”
Rebels captured two of Qaddafi’s sons as the battle to end his 42 years of autocratic rule arrived at the doorstep of his presidential compound.
Libya’s output fell to 100,000 barrels a day last month, a Bloomberg News survey showed. That’s less than 10 percent of the 1.6 million barrels the nation pumped before the uprising started in February.
At stations in Rhode Island this week, the AAA survey found average self-serve prices of $3.91 per gallon for midgrade unleaded, $4.04 for premium unleaded gasoline and $3.99 for diesel.
