Oil bottleneck gives Rockies cheaper gasoline

(AP) A boom in domestic oil drilling has helped lower U.S. gasoline prices, though the steepest drops have missed California commuters, Midwestern farmers and even New York commodities traders who know all about oil pricing.

Many drivers on the East and West coasts are paying over $1 a gallon more than drivers in the Rockies. One factor is the region's relative abundance of oil from booming fields in Canada and North Dakota.

Analysts say oil is bottlenecked in the Rockies because U.S. pipelines were built to carry oil from the coasts inland not in the opposite direction.

Relatively low fuel taxes also help keep gasoline prices low in Rocky Mountain states.

___

Follow Mead Gruver at http://twitter.com/meadgruver