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Pre-Labor Day Gas Price Soars 8 Cents To 18 Cents Above Last Year, AAA Says

24 August 1999

Pre-Labor Day Gas Price Soars 8 Cents To 18 Cents Above Last Year, AAA Says

    ORLANDO, Fla., Aug. 24 -- Gasoline prices soared more than
8 cents in the last month and are now 18 cents above what they were prior to
last Labor Day holiday, according to AAA.
    AAA's monthly Fuel Gauge Report shows self-serve regular unleaded gasoline
averages $1.255 per gallon, 8.1 cents higher than in July.  A year ago, the
pre-Labor Day average price was $1.075.
    The increase was the biggest in August since prices rocketed 11.4 cents in
1990 following Iraq's attack on Kuwait.
    Self-serve mid-grade averages $1.341 per gallon, an 8-cent rise in the
last month, and self-serve premium averages $1.40, up 8.1 cents in the last
month.
    Self-serve regular unleaded gasoline is most expensive in the West at
$1.415 per gallon, up 9.2 cents from last month and 19.2 cents higher than
last August.  It is least expensive in the Southeast at $1.166 cents, up 7.4
cents this month and 18 cents from one year ago.
    Other regional prices for self-serve regular unleaded are:  New England,
$1.266 per gallon, 8.9 cents higher than last month and 18.8 cents higher than
a year ago; Mid-Atlantic, $1.225, up 7.8 cents since last month and 16.8 cents
from last year; Great Lakes, $1.243, 8.1 cents higher than a month ago and
19.1 cents above last year; Midwest, $1.201, up 7.4 cents from July and
16.2 cents higher than a year ago; and Southwest, $1.209, 7.1 cents higher
than last month and up 18 cents from last year.
    The national average prices for self-serve regular unleaded gasoline for
the last six months were: July, $1.174 per gallon; June, $1.142;  May, $1.157;
April $1.15; March, 97 cents; and February, 96 cents.
    The national average prices for August in the last five years were: 1998,
$1.075 per gallon; 1997, $1.264; 1996, $1.253; 1995, $1.178; and 1994, $1.198.
    AAA's Fuel Gauge Report is based on data from Oil Price Information
Service -- the nation's most comprehensive source of petroleum pricing
information (800-929-4824, ext. 2645).
    AAA is a not-for-profit federation of 90 clubs with 1,100 offices
providing 42 million members in the United States and Canada with travel,
insurance, financial and auto-related services.