Oct. 15--Utahns are paying some of the highest prices in the country for gasoline. But thanks to the promise of lower tempertures and winter weather ahead, the cost of filling up appears to be headed down.

The average price for unleaded regular gasoline in Utah is now $2.62 a gallon, 8 cents lower than last month and 82 cents below the average price of a year ago, according to AAA Utah's monthly gasoline price survey.

"The calendar tells us it's fall, and gas prices in Utah are providing further evidence," said Rolayne Fairclough, spokeswoman for AAA Utah. "Prices are trending downward, which is typical for this time of year as people cut back on their driving."

Nationally, the average price of regular self-service gasoline is $2.48 a gallon.

But the downward trend has failed to catch the attention of one motorist.

As he stopped to fill up his battered Ford pickup at the Tesoro station on Beck Street in Salt Lake City, construction worker Jeff Winn said he has yet to notice much of a decline over the past several weeks.

"It doesn't seem to me to have moved much, but then I never thought I would look upon $2.60 a gallon gasoline as a bargain either," he said. "Maybe I'm just not paying that much attention."

Fairclough said for consumers keeping a proper perspective is key when looking at where gas prices are going.

"A longer view is more helpful, because it allows for daily fluctuations that don't necessarily

have much long term impact on the price at the pump."

And that is the perspective Kim Ju Conder, a sales representative for AutoTrader.com, tries to take.

"I try not to think too much about the price," Conder said, as she removed the receipt from the pump at Slim Olson's Chevron in Woods Cross. "As long as I can fill up for under $50, it isn't a problem for me."

Right now there are eight states -- including Hawaii, Alaska and California -- that have higher gasoline prices on average than Utah.

But it isn't unusual for Utah to be in that situation as the weather transitions from the warm summer months to fall and winter temperatures. Typically Utah gasoline prices are higher on average than other during the summer months and lower than average in the wintertime, Fairclough explained.

And a lot of that has to do with the demand for gasoline.

When the weather is warm Utahns are more likely to take to the highways to visit some of the state's prime vacation venues, such as the national parks. But the arrival of cooler weather also means that vacation time for many is over as children return to school and the highways become less inviting.

That also is being played out on the national scene.

Gasoline consumption in the U.S. for the week ended Oct. 9 slipped to the lowest level in four weeks as demand fell more than 4 percent in some regions, according to a MasterCard Inc. report.

Fairclough pointed out, however, that even though prices have dropped due to lower demand, crude oil prices have been on the rise the past few days. And the primary factor behind that, she said, appears to be optimism among commodities investors that a global economic recovery is developing.

steve@sltrib.com

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