Photo by George Lauby North Side Amoco, BP

Photo by George Lauby Casey's, East 4th

Photo by George Lauby Prices on 24 of 26 pumps at BP, south of I-80.

The price of gas is trending downward but North Platte continues to have the highest priced gasoline in the nation, according to reports Tuesday from AAA Auto Club.

You've got a facebook Request! CLICK HERE!

North Platte’s average price was $3.16 a gallon for regular unleaded, nearly 20 cents a gallon above seven other cities in the state, AAA said.

Across the nation, the regular price was $2.83 a gallon. The Nebraska average was $2.95, buoyed by North Platte’s high prices, AAA reported.

On Tuesday, some lower priced North Platte stations posted a price of $2.99 a gallon, the lowest price since late May.

Those lower priced stations were Gas Stop, Casey’s, as well as the single E-10 pumps at the BP and Conoco stations at the I-80 interchange. And, by the end of the day, Kwik Stops (Sinclair) were following suit.

By contrast, gas was just $2.82 a gallon at Casey’s in Kearney and $2.79 at the Kearney Gas Stop. In the northeast corner of Nebraska, the price was just $2.65 a gallon at Feather Hill Express in Niobrara.

The average price of regular in Omaha was $2.82.

Motorists continue to express their anger at the price of gas near North Platte’s main I-80 interchange, where the price of E-10 is flashed on signs attracting travelers. When motorists pull into the station, they find prices are higher. Two out of 26 or more pumps have the advertised price.

“There were no signs on the pumps indicating the price difference,” wrote Margaret Williams of Grand Island in an email that is circulating around the nation. “Luckily, we looked at the price on the pump before deciding we would not give our business to two such...gas stations.”

To read Williams’ letter, click HERE.

Trending lower

Gasoline futures and retail prices have been falling for weeks.

Investor sentiment on futures trading floors is contributing to the downturn.

One analyst, Vienna's PVM Oil Associates, noted a "mass exit of hedge funds and speculators ... was behind the significant drop in prices,” according to a report Tuesday in the International Herald-Tribune