By Peninsula Daily News staff and Associated Press
NORTH OLYMPIC PENINSULA residents filling up their tanks this Labor Day weekend found some of the highest gas prices on record for the holiday.
Local gas prices jumped by almost two cents a day during the past week.
The average price of self-serve regular gasoline on the Peninsula was $3.89 a gallon on Saturday, about 13 cents higher than last week, 5 cents higher than last month and 79 cents higher than last year, a Peninsula Daily News survey showed.
That’s the second highest price ever for this time of year. It was a little higher in 2008.
Some of the highest prices were in Forks.
Some of the lowest — 10 to 12 cents lower — were at Safeway stations in Sequim and Port Townsend.
The national average is $3.66 a gallon. The statewide average is $3.85, the AAA auto club said.
Some prices around the state from an AAA survey done Friday:
Bellingham, $3.94; Bremerton, $3.84; Seattle-Bellevue-Everett, $3.84; Tacoma, $3.82; Olympia, $3.84;
Vancouver, $3.80; Yakima, $3.84; Tri-Cities, $3.83; and Spokane, $3.78.
Retail gasoline prices are rising in the U.S. even though motorists are buying less.
Analysts say they have been pushed higher by a steady rise in international gasoline demand.
Americans may be using less, but drivers in developing nations are using more.
But on Friday oil prices fell along with the prospects for global economic growth as the U.S. government reported the economy added no jobs last month.
Benchmark crude fell $2.48, or 2.8 percent, to finish at $86.45 after the Labor Department said U.S. employers stopped adding jobs in July.
The unemployment rate remained at 9.1 percent.
The U.S. jobs report follows a weak manufacturing report from China and concerns that the lingering debt crisis in Europe continues to hold back economic growth there.
Put together, concerns are growing that the global economy is weakening.
A weak economy reduces demand for oil and oil products such as diesel, jet fuel, and gasoline because fewer goods are shipped and people travel and commute less.
