High gas prices have put a crimp on Beverle Wishon's travels this year, but she is starting to see some relief.
She paid $1.99 a gallon yesterday at Hanes Auto on N.C. 150 in Linwood, the lowest price she has paid for gas here in three years.
"I didn't go out unless I had to," when prices were higher earlier this year, she said. "Now it's getting better. This is nice."
Prices for a gallon of regular unleaded gas in the Triad have fallen from a peak of $3.97 in July to $2.26 yesterday, according to statistics from AAA Carolinas.
Throughout the state, the price for unleaded regular averaged $2.35, according to northcarolinagasprices.com. Prices at two stations in Spruce Pine also dropped below $2 a gallon.
Nationwide, prices at the pump fell nearly 2 cents to $2.24, down $1.05 in the past month, according to AAA, the Oil Price Information Service and Wright Express.
Prices are expected to continue to slide over the next few months, and stations selling for less than $2 a gallon could become more widespread, said Carol Gifford, a spokeswoman for AAA Carolinas.
Three states -- Ohio, Missouri and Oklahoma -- already have statewide averages of under $2, Gifford said.
"We could be getting there quickly," she said.
The price for light, sweet crude oil for December delivery increased $1.62 yesterday to $62.66 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Oil prices have fallen about 56 percent since reaching a record $147.27 in mid-July.
"It was too high, and it was not sustainable," said Joel Naroff, an economist and the president of Naroff Economic Advisors in Holland, Pa. "It was killing the economy and adding to the problems."
Gas prices in North Carolina were last below $2 on March 1, 2005, according AAA Carolinas. On that day, the average price for unleaded regular was $1.99, and the price for a barrel of crude oil was $51.68.
Jason Toews, a co-founder of Gasbuddy.com, said he expects the price of unleaded regular to drop to $1.90 gallon by December.
He does not think, however, that it will drop much lower than that as the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries is likely to cut production to increase the price of a barrel of oil.
But right now, there is less consumer demand for crude oil, and many people are driving more cars and fewer sport utility vehicles in the country's slumping economy, Toews said.
Gas prices are also dropping because of sluggish economies in Europe and Japan, Naroff said. American consumers will take advantage of the lower gas prices, but they probably will not spend "a whole lot more money" over the holidays.
Hanes Auto owner Mike Hanes said that there was already a line of customers at the station when he arrived at 7:45 a.m. yesterday.
"I didn't ever think we'd see it under $2," he said. "I thought those days were gone."
He said he has been amazed at how quickly prices have dropped. In September, his prices peaked at $4.69 after pipeline problems related to damage from Hurricane Ike led to a gas shortage across North Carolina and the Southeast.
Richard Marion noticed the $1.99 price from the highway as he traveled the weekend and decided then that he would fill up at the station.
Marion, a self-employed electrical contractor who lives in Arcadia, said that high gas prices this year have hit him hard.
"My gas bill is going to be double what it was last year," he said.
■ Paul Garber can be reached at 727-7327 or at pgarber@wsjournal.com.
■ John Hinton can be reached at 727-7299 or at jhinton@wsjournal.com.
■ The Associated Press contributed to this article.
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