For the first time in recent history, gasoline prices in Cortez have dropped below $2 per gallon.
On Tuesday morning, the Giant Store on East Main was advertising regular gasoline at $1.99 per gallon. Earlier in the week, Giant was charging 5 cents more.
With the lower price at Giant, other local suppliers along Main Street followed, and by Tuesday afternoon they had adjusted their pump prices.
Despite the local drop, the national average for regular gasoline rose Tuesday by less than half a cent, to $2.038 a gallon, according to travel and leisure group AAA. The uptick ended a record 123 days of consecutive decline, the longest since AAA started tracking retail gasoline prices 15 years ago.
AAA officials said gasoline prices are hovering above their lowest levels in six years, and are down nearly 40 percent from a year ago.
Oil prices on the New York Mercantile Exchange have steadily fallen in the past six months. On Monday, oil was traded at $45.32 a barrel.
Gasoline prices, however, often start to increase in early February, due to scheduled refinery maintenance prior to the summer driving season.
AAA officials predict gas prices to remain below $3 a gallon throughout 2015.
tbaker@cortezjournal.com