Brownsville eyes gas prices as national averages soar

Gas prices are changing again in Brownsville, making some motorists think about their budgets.

Tuesday, the cost of a gallon of unleaded gasoline in Brownsville was $2.49 at many stations, down from as much as $2.59 a gallon last week. However, prices were 10 cents cheaper at the beginning of the month.

Gas prices in Brownsville have been increasing and have not been below $2 a gallon since May 5, according to Gasbuddy.com.

"With this economy, I hope it gets better," Genaro Longoria said while refueling his car Saturday.

With prices where they are, Longoria is glad he has a short commute to work, which helps him save money.

"Thank God my job is in Brownsville, not McAllen or Harlingen," he said.

The national average price for a gallon of retail gas rose for the 49th straight day Tuesday, even though crude fell yet again. The price for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline gained a half cent overnight to $2.67, according to Oil Price Information Service, surpassing a stretch in early 2007 when prices moved up 48 straight days.

In late April, when this streak began, the national average for a gallon of gas was only $2.05.

Even during strong gasoline rallies in 2007 and 2008, prices tended to back off after gains of 20 to 40 cents per gallon, said Fred Rozell, OPIS' retail director.

"This is unprecedented," he said.

At the Stripes on International Boulevard, Marisol Ochoa said she expects the price of gas to keep going up.

Ochoa looks for the cheapest prices and only pumps $10 at a time. When prices increase, she can afford less gas to drive her family around town for errands, she said.

"(Gas) was like $2.15, now it's $2.49," she said.

Ochoa's husband is a construction worker who commutes to work throughout Cameron County. "Sometimes he goes to Los Fresnos or La Feria (for the job)," she said, and spends $40 a week for gas.

Manuel Garza, an employee for George Cunningham Construction of Harlingen, says he and his co-workers carpool to work sites whenever possible. Sometimes, the company will park some of its five trucks to save money on gasoline, he said.

"A lot of gas we waste going all over the Valley," Garza said.

Benchmark crude for July delivery declined for the third straight day on Tuesday, falling 15 cents to settle at $70.47 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Analysts have been saying for more than a month that crude prices are much too high. Even though it was the third straight day of declines, oil has now closed above $70 for a full week, the first time that has happened since October.

But there are signs that gasoline may be nearing a high.

Last year on this day, wholesale prices for gasoline peaked and began to fall, which was much later than the norm.

Wholesale prices in at least one key market have dipped, and retail prices may follow.

Last year, gas prices in the Rio Grande Valley reached their highest levels at approximately $3.96 a gallon in July, but had dropped to their lowest level in December, when motorists in Brownsville paid approximately $1.43 a gallon.

Last summer, when gasoline cost nearly $4 a gallon, Garza drove less in his personal vehicle, a 1996 Buick Oldsmobile. "I hardly moved it," he said and laughed.

If gas prices do rise again to approximately $4 a gallon, Longoria said he would have to cut back on shopping and other expenses. 

"There are other alternatives to get to work," Longoria said, "like the bus, biking or carpooling."