Oregon Public Broadcasting

Gas prices in the Northwest are still dropping despite a 20-cent per gallon increase nationwide over the past few days.

The spike in prices elsewhere came after Hurricane Ike closed more than a dozen refineries in Texas and Louisiana.

But most gas sold in the Northwest comes from refineries in Canada and Washington.

Marie Dodds with the Oregon-Idaho branch of AAA says that favors Northwest drivers.

Marie Dodds: “Most of the time the prices here tend to be higher than prices in many states.  But when we do have an event like this that basically wipes out gas supplies from the Gulf Coast, we are not impacted as much.”

According to AAA, the average price of a gallon of gas in Oregon is $3.72.  In Washington and Idaho, it’s around $3.80. The national average is $3.85.

Online:

AAA’s state by state listing of average gas prices