Seasonal fluctuations have gas prices at all-time highs - $1.73 per gallon here - not taking into account inflation.
By SCOTT BARANCIK
Published March 24, 2004
It's not your imagination: Gas prices are higher than ever.
A gallon of unleaded, self-serve gasoline in the Tampa Bay area cost an average of $1.73 Monday night, an all-time high. State and national prices also broke records.
AAA, a not-for-profit automotive services organization, pinned the record highs on strong consumer demand, tight supplies and the high cost of crude oil, from which gasoline is refined.
"We've been setting state records almost every day this past week," said Gregg Laskoski, spokesman for AAA Auto Club South in Tampa.
Nationwide, the average price per gallon was $1.738 as of Monday night.
Three states - California, Hawaii and Nevada - have crossed the $2-a-gallon threshold for regular unleaded, the AAA said. In California, prices were $2.14 a gallon; in Hawaii, $2.11, and in Nevada, $2.06.
Across Florida, the average of $1.768 beat the national average. For much of last year, Florida's gas prices trailed the national average. In the fourth quarter, however, Florida climbed ahead, Laskoski said.
Within the state, average gas prices ranged from $1.686 per gallon in the Pensacola area to $1.835 in the West Palm Beach-Boca Raton area.
Bay area gas prices were up 5.4 cents from a year ago, when the average price was $1.676 per gallon. A month ago, a gallon of unleaded, self-serve gas cost $1.622 locally.
Talk of "record" prices can be misleading. Because of inflation, the value of a dollar decreases over time. In today's dollars, a gallon of gas reached $3 or more during the oil crises of the early 1970s and early 1980s.
Part of the recent spike is seasonal. Gasoline prices traditionally rise between March and May as refiners temporarily shut down their plants in preparation for the peak summer driving season, when special clean-burning blends of fuel are required. But the pressure on prices has been particularly severe this year because commercial inventories of gasoline are already low, and crude oil prices are near a 14-year high.
Meanwhile, consumer demand for gasoline was up roughly 4.5 percent higher during the past four weeks versus a year ago, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.
The federal government has warned that gasoline prices could increase by 30 cents to 40 cents a gallon more this summer because of new formulation requirements, Rayola Dougher, senior policy analyst with the American Petroleum Institute, said Tuesday.
"We certainly are troubled by gas prices because this is putting a strain on families' budgets," said Colleen Healey, spokeswoman for AAA Mid-Atlantic.
Political and economic forces threaten gasoline prices as summer approaches, including political instability in Venezuela, one of the largest suppliers of crude oil to the United States, Healey said.
AAA obtained its fuel price averages from the Oil Price Information Service, a Lakewood, N.J., company that surveys 60,000 gas stations nationwide. Monday's fuel prices were based on credit-card swipes just before midnight.
- Information from Times wires was used in this report. Scott Barancik can be reached at barancik@sptimes.com or 727893-8751.
