Oklahoma residents could be getting some good news when they head to the gasoline pump this summer. Recent high crude oil prices have slashed demand for gasoline, pushing prices lower. AAA Oklahoma spokesman Chuck Mai said Oklahoma's average gasoline price has fallen 24 cents a gallon in the past month. "We at AAA feel the price averages nationally and in Oklahoma still have more room to fall, given the declines in the price of crude oil and the current economic uncertainties facing several European nations," Mai said. "I believe we'll see pump prices in the state continue to inch downward, perhaps as much as another quarter before the summer ends, assuming nothing catastrophic happens to negatively impact oil or gasoline production or distribution," he said. Oklahoma's average gasoline price on Tuesday was $3.50 a gallon, nearly 90 cents higher than a year ago, according to AAA's FuelGaugeReport.com. But motorists in the Oklahoma City area recently have encountered prices as low as $3.19. Tuesday's national average was $3.64 a gallon, down 34 cents from this year's May 5 peak price. "The feeling among oil observers is that high crude oil and gasoline prices have led to demand destruction and slowed global growth," Mai said. He said that concern was exacerbated by Monday's Federal Highway Administration report showing a 2.4 percent decline in vehicle miles traveled in April. That came after 12 months of year-over-year increases. "This decline is widely attributed to the spike in crude oil prices beginning in mid-February that set off the rapid rise in the national average price of gasoline at the pump," Mai said. Last month's dip in crude oil prices helped push the average national pump price away from the $4 a gallon mark, he said, but U.S. gasoline demand may remain weak due to discouraging unemployment and housing markets. "It appears we have weathered that touch-and-go spring period during which refineries transition to the production of summer-grade fuels," Mai said. "We're in very good shape domestically in terms of supply." Natural gas remains stable Such large-scale fluctuations have not been present in the natural gas market. Analyst Tony Say, president of Oklahoma City's Clearwater Enterprises Inc., said a hot summer could boost prices, but he doesn't expect cash prices to move out of the $4.15 to $4.50 range in Oklahoma. "The cash prices have steadily risen as a result of the higher temperatures," he said. "When it gets this hot across the country, it certainly has an effect on power generation." Say said demand for natural gas to fuel power plants has increased, as low prices have made it competitive with coal on a cost basis. He said less gas is being injected into storage this year, but there is still plenty of it available. "We think that the weather and the fact that storage is lagging a little bit is somewhat supportive to gas prices, even though the supply out there is fairly ample," Say said. "The one wild card is weather. If you see hurricanes develop and create some shut-ins in the Gulf (of Mexico) like we had a couple of years ago then all bets are off. "You could see gas rise into the $5-plus neighborhood." Say said he expects gas prices to remain stable in the long-term, but that should benefit the industry since customers will have reliable access to a clean-burning fuel.

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