Stable and slightly declining gasoline prices greeted motorists throughout The Times and Democrat Region over the past week, with prices reaching levels not seen here since the first of the year.

Selected stations surveyed throughout The T&D Region Wednesday revealed the least-expensive self-serve regular unleaded gasoline sold for $1.299 at the Shell E-Z Shop at U.S. 21 and Highway 22 near Interstate 26 exit 139.

At the Fogle's Piggly Wiggly in Neeses, regular unleaded sold for $1.299 as well.

At the I-26 Bowman Exit 159, the Pilot and Phillips 66 Li'l Cricket sold for $1.319. Both stations are on Homestead Road.

In Orangeburg, the least-expensive found sold for $1.329 at five stations. See survey for more details.

The most-expensive surveyed sold in Santee for $1.409 a gallon at the Horizon E-Z Shop and the Citgo E-Z Shop both on Highway 6.

In the interim, June crude futures slid to another five-month low Tuesday, extending losses posted in the past six sessions and heavily weighing down the entire New York Mercantile Exchange complex.

Analysts said traders finally felt confident enough to stick by their bearish assessment of decisions made at last week's meeting of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries.

The organization reached a decision to lift its output ceiling by 900,000 barrels a day to 25.4 million barrels a day.

Although the measure won't take effect until June 1, a dearth of fresh market-moving news has kept it the main driver for traders.

OPEC also pledged to remove some 2 million barrels a day in excess production from the market, but the difference between the new ceiling and its current output is seen to be around 600,000 to 800,000 barrels a day -- much less than traders had expected the group to cut.

"The dominant consensus is now that OPEC's cuts were too small," said Tim Evans, an analyst at IFR Pegasus in New York, adding that traders shouldn't see crude's bottoming out as a buying opportunity. "It is a dangerous time to be a contrarian," he said.

May gasoline settled 1.30 cents lower at 82.94 cents a gallon, marking a two-day losing streak, while the June contract closed down 1.34 cents at 79.38 cents.

As The T&D continues its weekly gas survey, we encourage readers to get involved.

If you know of a gasoline price consistently lower than those in our survey, let us know by e-mail at news@timesanddemocrat.com, by fax at 803-533-5595 or by phone at 803-534-1060. The prices must be consistently low for inclusion in the survey. Here are some of the prices found in the survey conducted Wednesday morning, April 30:

Orangeburg

-- Dodge's Store at U.S. 301 and Cannon Bridge Road: regular unleaded, $1.329.

-- Henry's on U.S. 301: regular unleaded, $1.329.

-- Speedway, U.S. 21 and U.S. 21 Bypass: regular unleaded, $1.329.

-- Short Stop, Magnolia and U.S. 178: regular unleaded, $1.329.

-- Hot Spot, John C. Calhoun Drive: regular unleaded, $1.329.

-- Horizon E-Z Shop, Old St. Matthews Road: regular unleaded, $1.339.

-- Horizon E-Z Shop, Shillings Bridge Road: regular unleaded, $1.339.

-- Speedway, Boulevard St. and Carolina Ave., $1.339.

-- Big D's Shell, Magnolia Street and U.S. 178: regular unleaded, $1.339.

-- Gaz-bah Exxon, Chestnut and Ellis: regular unleaded, $1.339.

-- Exxon, Charleston Highway: regular unleaded, $1.349.

Neeses

-- Fogle's Piggly Wiggly, Highway 4 and U.S. 321: regular unleaded, $1.299.

Bamberg

-- 3-Way Food Mart, Main Street: regular unleaded, $1.379.

-- Horizon E-Z Shop West, U.S. 78 West: regular unleaded, $1.379.

-- Horizon E-Z Shop on U.S. 301 South: regular unleaded, $1.379.

Branchville

-- Horizon E-Z Shop, Freedom Road: regular unleaded, $1.379.

Santee

-- Horizon E-Z Shop, Highway 6: regular unleaded, $1.409.

-- Citgo E-Z Shop, Highway 6: regular unleaded, $1.409.

St. George

-- Fast Point Food Store, on Highway 78 and Sears Street: regular unleaded, $1.379.

St. Matthews

-- Amoco, Highway 6: regular unleaded, $1.379.

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