Price of gasoline reaches record high in Iowa

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Price of gasoline reaches record high in Iowa By WILLIAM RYBERG Register Business Writer 03/21/2000

The average price for a gallon of unleaded, regular gasoline hit a record of $1.50 in Iowa this month, a new statewide survey shows.

That's 12 cents higher than the average price of self-service regular during February and 54 cents above the March 1999 average of 96 cents a gallon, according to the monthly survey of prices by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.

The March average also was 10 cents higher than the $1.40-a-gallon record set in October 1990, a few months before the start of the Persian Gulf War.

"Outrageous" was the way motorist David Myers described gas prices Monday as he filled up his pickup truck. Myers, a waiter, said he pays the higher price because "I need to get to work."

The state average price was based on a March 15 survey of more than 100 retail outlets, said David Downing, a department fuel-price expert.

Reasons for the high prices include lower gasoline inventories and production limits by OPEC - limits designed to raise the price of crude oil, which had plummeted a year ago because of a worldwide oil glut.

The natural resources department expects Iowa retail prices to fluctuate in coming weeks because of speculation about oil production increases or curtailments.

Downing said gasoline prices in Iowa had fallen a few cents a gallon in the past few days at some convenience stores and service stations.

The per-gallon price could rise to the $1.70 range in Iowa this summer, Downing said. Prices could drop this fall if OPEC increases production.

The March survey found prices of from $1.41 to $1.61 a gallon across the state.

The Iowa average was about 3 cents a gallon below national levels, the department said.

Among major Iowa cities, the highest average price was in Iowa City - $1.55 a gallon. The lowest price, $1.45, was in Dubuque. The Des Moines average was $1.47.

Prices aren't at all-time highs when figures are adjusted for inflation. According to the Associated Press, the inflation-adjusted price of gas in 1981 is the equivalent of $2.47 a gallon in today's money. In 1981, the average cost of gasoline in Iowa (not adjusted for inflation) was $1.34.

When gasoline sells today for $1.44 a gallon, experts say, the price is a penny higher than the current-dollar equivalent of what drivers paid in 1972, when gas sold for 36 cents.

Iowa's March survey found the state's average price for self-serve diesel fuel was $1.51 a gallon, up 6 cents from February. The price a year ago was $1.03.

The prices for propane, 84 cents a gallon, and heating oil, $1.07, were up a penny from February.

http://www.dmregister.com/news/stories/c4789010/10833905.html

-- Martin Thompson (mthom1927@aol.com), March 21, 2000


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