06:09 PM PST on Tuesday, March 29, 2005

By ABE ESTIMADA, kgw.com Staff

With no relief in sight from expensive crude oil prices, Oregon gas prices continue to go up.

KGW

If the cost of fuel keeps marching upward at this pace, Oregon drivers may be paying $45 to fill a 20 gallon tank in the near future, said AAA Oregon/Idaho on Wednesday.

The price to fill up in Oregon has risen to an average $2.24 a gallon this week and is the fourth highest in the nation. It’s also about 9 cents off the record high prices set about a year ago during the Memorial Day weekend.

Diesel prices in Oregon are at about $2.57 a gallon, and in Washington, it’s $2.63.

Nationally, gas prices average $2.14 a gallon, which is 10 cents higher than the all-time high set during Memorial Day weekend of 2004.

The culprit in rising gas prices is crude oil, which is priced at about $54 per barrel, AAA Oregon/Idaho said. Prices may fall when crude oil supplies build up again in the United States.

“That could be enough to stop the steady rise in fuel prices,” AAA Oregon/Idaho said.

The highest gas prices in Oregon are in Medford/Ashland, where motorists there pay about $2.30 a gallon. The cheapest gas to be found, on average, is in Salem, where drivers there shell out about $2.18 a gallon.

In Portland, the cost to fill up is about $2.21 a gallon, and in Vancouver, Washington, gas prices are at about $2.18 a gallon. In the Eugene-Springfield area, fueling up costs about $2.21 a gallon.