Gas prices to fall

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    By Marianne Holman

    A decline in gas prices is still in the forecast, despite prices at the pumps continuing to rise.

    ?They [gas prices] were coming down after Katrina when things started flowing again,? said Roylane Fairclough, AAA Utah spokeswoman. ?Then Rita hit and it affected the refining stations and plants.?

    Despite rumors of prices climbing to $5 a gallon, fuel costs are expected to fall over several weeks as damaged refineries begin operating again, and the demand for oil decreases, Fairclough said.

    ?Refineries are really working at capacity, ? Fairclough said. ?So there is not a lot of wiggle room, even when there isn?t a major catastrophe.?

    Excess oil is scarce even without natural disasters like the hurricanes that recently hit in the South. Major disruptions occurred because of this shortage. Although the overall damage to rigs and refineries wasn?t as severe as anticipated, damage still occurred. Evacuations and harm to these refineries and rigs caused slowdowns and shutdowns to many oil providers.

    ?Even though [Rita?s] damage wasn?t as widespread as they thought, it certainly did have some repercussions,? Jason Toews, co-founder of the utahgasprices.com Web site. ?[Rita] shut down around 20 percent of the countries oil companies.?

    Less damage from Rita than anticipated and major efforts already underway to restore damaged areas are helping further a quicker recovery.

    ?The refineries shouldn?t be as difficult to get back [operating] from Rita than Katrina,? Fairclough said.

    Although it is unknown exactly how long it will take, both Fairclough and Toews say the future may bring lower prices.

    ?They [gas prices] will come back down significantly,? said Toews said. ?It may take a good solid month, but certainly they will come back down.?

    Meanwhile, President Bush encouraged Americans last Monday to drive less to conserve gasoline.

    Until rigs and refineries become fully operational again, several students are taking efforts to conserve.

    ?I don?t drive my car unless I really need to,? said Jenn Frey, a junior from Portland Ore. ?I think it is a waste for me to drive.?

    Frey?s efforts include biking to the grocery store, walking to campus and even walking to the gym. She also carpools with her roommate whenever possible.

    ?[Then] neither one of us has to spend more money on gas,? Frey said.

    Gas saving tips from AAA include keeping air in tires at proper ranges, driving early in the morning or later in the evening to avoid traffic and avoiding an overflow of fuel by not topping off each time gas tanks are filled up.

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