Gas dips to less than $2 per gallon in Northern San Joaquin Valley

It’s been teasing us forever, it seems, and this week, gasoline at last fell to less than $2 in the Northern San Joaquin Valley.

An Arco station at Highway 99 and Lander Avenue, just south of Turlock, was selling regular unleaded gas for $1.99 per gallon. A few other Arco stations also have been selling gas for less than $2, according to the website www.modestogasprices.com: in Ceres at Mitchell and East Service roads, in Modesto at Coffee Road and Floyd Avenue, and at 2301 Crows Landing Road. The membership store Costco at North Tegner Road and West Monte Vista Avenue in Turlock also has $1.99 gas, the site says.

The Lander Avenue Arco was a popular stop Wednesday morning. Ron Williams of Atwater said he drove 20 miles to save 26 cents per gallon. “When you get eight gallons of gas, you save $2.”

Stephen Lovejoy of Newman stopped in after a night painting job at Modesto’s Costco. He saw the $1.99 gas on Facebook, so made sure he stopped there on his way home.

The average price for regular unleaded gasoline nationwide Wednesday was $2.03, according to AAA. The average price in California was $2.44, down $1.14 from a year ago at this time.

From 2011 to 2013, gas averaged around $3.50 a gallon nationally. It was higher in California, where the average topped out at $4.20 last May.

The price dropped gradually last summer before going into free fall by autumn and into winter.

According to AAA, the falling prices at the pump are due to oil prices tumbling to multiyear lows. Analysts expect the prices to rise slightly in the spring as more people start hitting the roads, but the national average should remain at less than $3 for the year.

This story was originally published January 28, 2015 at 2:39 PM with the headline "Gas dips to less than $2 per gallon in Northern San Joaquin Valley."