Bonners gas prices on par with CDA

Anytime Sharon Fitzgerald drives her Chevy Silverado to Coeur d’Alene, she makes sure she needs to fill up the tank.

That’s because traditionally gas prices are 10 to 15 cents a gallon lower in Coeur d’Alene than Bonners Ferry, where Fitzgerald lives. On Monday, the average price for a gallon of gasoline in Bonners Ferry was the same as Coeur d’Alene at $3.98 a gallon.

“We’ve never been cheaper than Coeur d’Alene,” said Fitzgerald, whose half-ton pickup gets 20 to 25 miles per gallon thanks to the canopy on her truck and nitrogen in her tires. “That surprises me greatly.”

Dave Carlson, director of public and government affairs for AAA Idaho in Boise, noted gasoline in Coeur d’Alene ranges from $3.90 a gallon to $4.24 a gallon.

“They have a huge range,” Carlson said.

Gasoline prices in Bonners Ferry fell below the $4 mark last week. At Zip Trip in Bonners Ferry, a gallon of gasoline dropped to $3.95 on Aug. 7.

“When I came into work, it had been lowered,” said Zip Trip clerk Deanna Booth.

Customers were commenting.

“They seem to be more pleased, (but would be happier) if they came down a little lower,” Booth said.

At the Exxon at Dyck’s Oil & Auto and the Conoco, gasoline was $3.99 a gallon on Monday.

Carlson attributes the lower gas prices to declining oil prices. Oil hit a high of $147 a barrel in July. As of Monday, it was $114.

“That’s a substantial decrease and should mean gasoline prices should be $3.50 (a gallon) in a month’s period,” he said. “Obviously that is not happening in Idaho, where prices might be viewed as artificially high with little explanation.”

The national average for a gallon of gasoline was $3.81 on Monday. In Idaho, it was $4.06.