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Staff and wire report

(12/07/08 17:15:00)

A national survey of gasoline prices in cities nationwide has found that Anchorage, among bigger cities, has the highest average price.According to the survey released Sunday, the average price of U.S. gasoline fell 22 cents a gallon during the past two weeks, bringing it to its lowest level in nearly five years.

The average price of regular gasoline Friday was $1.75 a gallon, oil industry analyst Trilby Lundberg said. AAA said Sunday the average price in its daily survey showed the price had dipped to $1.73.

The last time gas was cheaper was on March 2004, Lundberg said, when the national average for regular was $1.74 a gallon. The all-time high was on July 11, 2008, when the price peaked at $4.11 a gallon.

But in Anchorage, the survey found gasoline costs $2.54 a gallon. Of cities surveyed, the nation’s lowest price was $1.46 in Cheyenne, Wyo. The highest in the contiguous United States was $2.10 on New York’s Long Island.

A state investigation in the fall found that gasoline prices in Alaska were falling more slowly than elsewhere in the nation because the state’s two refineries are struggling to turn a profit.

One of those, Flint Hills, is considering selling its North Pole refinery. The company has said it will make a decision by the end of the year. The facility converts North Slope crude oil primarily into jet and home heating fuel.

The new AAA survey Sunday that Honolulu was close behind Anchorage as a high-priced bigger city, with an average price there of $2.47 a gallon.

The AAA survey also showed Alaska continued to have the highest average among states, with regular gas costing $2.75. Hawaii at $2.56 and New York at $2.08 were the only two other states with an average above $2 a gallon.

Within Alaska, AAA showed the Fairbanks average at $2.62 a gallon on Sunday, with Juneau averaging $3.09.

Copyright © Mon Dec 08 2008 11:13:09 GMT-0900 (AKST)1900 The Anchorage Daily News (www.adn.com)