Hitting the gas: prices set another mark
AAA says $2.586 per gallon average is 6th record in 6 days; California pays most, Wyoming the least.
August 18, 2005: 7:15 AM EDT
money.cnn.com
NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Gasoline prices set another high Thursday for their sixth straight record-breaking day, according to travel club AAA's daily fuel gauge report.
The nationwide average price for a gallon of regular unleaded hit $2.586, up about 2 cents from the previous day, according to AAA, the largest U.S. motorist organization, formerly known as the American Automobile Association. In the last year, prices have gained almost 72 cents, or almost 39 percent.
While the average price for a gallon of gasoline is close to $2.60 a gallon, prices have jumped past $3 in some individual cities and towns.
The average price for a gallon of regular unleaded is highest in California at $2.786 and lowest in Wyoming at $2.418.
Retail diesel, meanwhile, is at $2.631, a gain of about 76 cents from last year's price.
Although the AAA has reported a record high price for gasoline, prices remain below their all-time highs when inflation is taken into account. According to the Lundberg Survey, a national survey released over the weekend, gas prices were the equivalent of $3 a gallon during the Iranian revolution in the early 1980's.
Gasoline prices have tracked steadily higher since early July, and economists fear that higher fuel prices have begun to take their toll on consumer spending and business costs.
The combination of high prices at the pump and higher-than-expected inflation readings has some economists worried that the nation faces renewed price pressure. (Full story.)
Even Wal-Mart (down $0.46 to $47.11, Research), the world's No. 1 retailer, said quarterly revenue slid because its customers were being squeezed by gas prices and warned that the worst is yet to come. |
