West Valley gas prices stable

West Valley residents planning a staycation close to home over the July 4 weekend might want to consider Tucson as their destination.
The Old Pueblo has the lowest gasoline prices in the state and among the lowest in the nation, according to AAA Arizona.
The price of a gallon of regular self-serve gasoline in Tucson stands at $3.82, up .7 cents from last week but still the lowest in the state, the association said.
By comparison, the average price in the West Valley is $4.12, the same as last week, while the average statewide is $4.09, an increase of just over a penny from last week. The national average is up 2 cents to $4.09.
Arizona motorists on average are paying $1.16 more per gallon this year than the Fourth of July holiday last year and more than double what they paid five years ago, AAA said.
The Tucson area gets a break over the rest of the state because it gets cheaper fuel through a pipeline from Texas, while the Phoenix metro area is supplied mostly from California, said Linda Gorman, public affairs manager for AAA Arizona.
Also the Valley uses a special gasoline formula in the summer to reduce vehicle emissions. That fuel is more expensive because it is produced by only a few refineries, she said. Tucson is not under the same air-quality requirement.
Vacationers can find even cheaper gasoline in Mexico, where it was selling for the equivalent of $2.50 a gallon last week in Rocky Point, Gorman said. However, she warned the gasoline in Mexico has a higher sulfur content, which can damage emission components in American cars if used for an extended period.
For those driving to California this weekend, expect the highest gasoline prices in the United States at an average of $4.58 a gallon.
Gorman expects the price of gasoline will rise a few cents more during the holiday weekend as more drivers hit the road. Also the price of crude oil, the major expense component in gasoline, has risen for the past few days, and that higher cost probably will be reflected in gasoline prices by the weekend, she said.
The price of crude oil shot to a fresh record above $144 a barrel Wednesday when the U.S. Department of Energy reported a bigger-than-expected drop in U.S. oil supplies. 
Light, sweet crude for August delivery rose as high as $144.15 on the New York Mercantile Exchange shortly after the market closed. 
The Associated Press contributed to this report.