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Gas prices take a dip, but respite may not last OPEC move may turn that sharp drop around Gasoline prices have been dropping dramatically around the Rogue Valley. The price of regular unleaded at the Shell station on East Barnett Road dropped 10 cents this week to slightly less than $1.43 per gallon, said Sheila Cunbankes, an employee there. "It doesn't surprise me because prices have been so high," she said. "But it's nice. I'm a consumer, too, and this is where I get my gas." An employee at Texaco on East Barnett said the station lowered the price of regular unleaded six cents Thursday alone. A gallon of regular there cost just under $1.40. She said such sharp price changes are rare. "It's usually just a cent or two," she said. "We did more business this morning." A gallon of regular unleaded at the Exxon station on Barnett and Riverside now costs $1.43. At the Chevron station on East Barnett, it's $1.40. At the Astro station on south Riverside, it's $1.39. The average national price for gasoline is about $1.40, according to the Energy Information Administration. The recent, relatively extreme drops may be followed by extreme increases. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries sees the drop in prices worldwide as a threat and is considering slashing its production, perhaps within the next couple of weeks. A cut in production could cause prices at the pump to inch back upward. In September of last year, Rogue Valley residents were paying an average of $1.88 per gallon for regular unleaded, according to the American Automobile Association of Oregon and Idaho. Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.