Could $2 a gallon gas be coming to Merced area stations soon?

There have been some smiles at the pump this week, and they may get larger in the near future.

Three Merced gasoline stations are selling regular unleaded gasoline for $2.29 a gallon, and one station owner here says he will be lowering the price for regular to less than $2 a gallon soon.

The $2.29 per gallon price was offered Wednesday at Costco, 1445 R St.; Gas-N-Save, 963 W. 16th St.; and Arco, 1625 McSwain Road, according to information on GasBuddy.com.

Bobby Kullar, owner of the McSwain Road Arco station, said he would be offering regular gasoline for $1.99 a gallon soon. He said he has seen a 30 percent increase in gas volume over the month and the station has seen more patrons lately.

Maria Coria of Merced, filling up at Arco, likes the lower prices. But she is concerned about rumors that gas prices “will go really high.”

“We will get used to this and then, wham!” Coria said.

Jerald Golder of Merced has been driving to Modesto to visit his wife in the hospital. His hybrid auto gets 400 miles to a tank of gas, but lower prices are pleasing.

“I love it (the gas price) down this low,” Golder said. “I’m retired and this makes it easier on us.” He said he has noticed some filling stations selling gas for much more than others.

Romy Kirpal, an employee of Gas-N-Save on West 16th Street, said business was down for the past few weeks but is consistent now.

Still, customers aren’t comfortable with gas prices, Kirpal said.

Gilbert Coronado of Atwater believes gas prices should stay low because of the economy. He said if prices get worse, people won’t be able to move around or get to work.

“It could be better,” Coronado said. “It was getting out of hand. These prices are helpful for everybody.”

Robert Vasquez of Merced was filling up a gas can at the West 16th Street store. He mows lawns and doesn’t drive much except around town.

“I feel good about gas prices,” Vasquez said. “When the price goes down, it does help.”

He remembers working at a gas station in Texas in 1955 when a “gas war” brought prices down to 9 cents a gallon.

Daniel Rodriguez of Merced thinks falling gas prices are great but wonders how long it will last. He remembers gas at 19 cents a gallon in Merced in 1967.

The Emeryville-based California State Automobile Association reported that California gas prices continue to take a dive, registering $2.58 on average for a gallon of regular. That’s 39 cents cheaper than prices noted in AAA Northern California’s Dec. 9 gas survey.

By contrast, CSAA reported $4.67 a gallon in October 2012 as the highest recorded in California. Of all metropolitan areas tracked by AAA in Northern California, Yreka continues to register the highest price at $2.87 per gallon of unleaded regular.

“The dramatic slide in retail gas prices has been driven by a similar plummet in global crude oil prices since the end of the summer of 2014,” Cynthia Harris, AAA Northern California spokeswoman, said in a news release. “This decline in the price of oil has been a product of weak demand combined with abundant supply.”

The national average as of Wednesday was $2.12 per gallon. The average price for regular unleaded gasoline continues to test lows not seen since May 2009, Harris said.

CSAA said the global price of crude has lost more than half its value since mid-2014.

OPEC has reiterated that it will not intervene in the market to force prices higher and plans to sustain its current production levels, with the earliest possibility for supply reductions reportedly pushed to their next meeting, scheduled for June.

This story was originally published January 15, 2015 at 7:04 PM with the headline "Could $2 a gallon gas be coming to Merced area stations soon?."