FROM:
http://www.tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080917/BUSINESS01/809170393&GID...

Tenn. gas prices exceed national average

By RANDY MCCLAIN
Business Editor
September 17, 2008

Oil prices extended their steep losses Tuesday, tumbling
below $92 a barrel as a worsening economy suggested that
U.S. energy demand will keep falling despite crude's
return to year-ago levels.

But you'd be hard-pressed to find relief at the pump in
Middle Tennessee, where prices rose to a record high of
nearly $4.09 a gallon on Tuesday, up 4 cents from Monday
and well above the national average of $3.85. Analysts
said the lingering effects of refinery outages along
the Gulf Coast took a toll on states that rely on
pipelines bringing fuel from coastal regions where
Hurricane Ike caused damage over the weekend.

AAA reported the average price of gas in the Nashville
area stood just under $4.09 a gallon on Tuesday, up 50.5
cents in the past month.

Prices at the pump in East Tennessee were even higher.
The Knoxville area reported an average price of $4.495
a gallon on Tuesday, although that was down about 16
cents from Monday when the after-effects of Ike first
shocked the market.

There could be relief in sight, however. Crude oil
futures on the New York Mercantile Exchange fell
below $92 a barrel on Tuesday after averaging
$116.69 in August.

Outages continue

Analysts said most U.S. consumers and businesses are
bracing for a protracted economic downturn that will
force Americans to cut back on driving and lead to
manufacturers shipping and selling fewer products.
That will curb demand for fuel, analysts said.

"The economic slowdown is completely unavoidable now
and people will be driving less, trucking less and
buying less," said James Cordier, president of Tampa,
Fla.-based trading firms Liberty Trading Group and
OptionSellers.com. "Energy consumption will fall
dramatically."

The price of crude has fallen 38 percent since
shooting above $147 a barrel on July 11.

But relief from high oil prices isn't universal. Gas
prices at the pump topped $4 a gallon in parts of
Alabama, Illinois and Kentucky in the wake of Ike.
Refinery damage along the Gulf Coast was not as
severe as some feared, but temporary outages
continued Tuesday at some Texas refineries due to a
lack of power.

Information from The Associated Press was used
in this report.

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