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The Honolulu Advertiser

Posted at 11:14 a.m., Wednesday, October 19, 2005

Hawai'i gas prices to fall another 12 cents next week

By Greg Wiles
Advertiser Staff Writer

Hawai'i motorists should get some relief at the pump for a second consecutive week starting Monday, when the state cuts the gas price cap for wholesalers.

The state Public Utilities Commission set the maximum pre-tax wholesale price for regular on O'ahu at $2.0954, or 12 cents lower than a week earlier, when rising gasoline production on the Mainland led to a 44-cent plunge in the gas cap.

Drivers could see retail pump prices fall below $2.90 for a gallon of regular on O'ahu. Retail prices for gasoline in Honolulu averaged $3.37 a gallon Tuesday night, or 47 percent higher than a year earlier. It compared with the national average of $2.72, according to the American Automobile Association's Daily Fuel Gauge Report.

Hawai'i's gas cap law, the only one in the U.S., took effect Sept. 1 and is based on prices in Los Angeles, the Gulf Coast and New York. The cap only limits wholesale prices and doesn't require gasoline station owners to raise or lower their retail prices.

Reach Greg Wiles at 525-8088 or gwiles@honoluluadvertiser.com.