Gas prices at record high - Lundberg Average gallon reaches $3.03, higher than post-Katrina price last year. ATLANTA (CNN) -- Gas prices went up one cent over the past three weeks to a new record high of $3.03 for a gallon of self-serve regular, according to a survey published Sunday. The Lundberg Survey found the average price was more than a penny higher than it was Sept. 9, 2005, in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, which set a record high in dollar terms at the time. Gas prices topped that mark three weeks ago, at $3.02. When adjusted for inflation, however, the current prices is 13 cents below the all-time high of March 1981, said publisher Trilby Lundberg. At that time, a gallon of self-serve regular cost $1.38, which comes out to $3.16 in today's dollars, she said. Dramatic developments in recent days impacting the price of oil counterbalanced each other, leaving the price about the same at the end of the 3-week period, Lundberg said. BP announced it would shut down production at Prudhoe Bay in Alaska, which caused oil prices to jump; but then BP struck a deal to keep half of it open, causing prices to slide again. Also, news of foiled terrorist attacks against airplanes led investors to expect a significant drop in the demand for jet fuel, leading oil prices to fall further back down, Lundberg said. The survey looked at the price of gasoline at about 5,000 U.S. gas stations on Aug. 11. It found the lowest average price in Charleston, S.C., where a gallon of self-serve regular cost $2.82. Chicago had the highest average price, at $3.29. Here are the average prices of a gallon of self-serve regular in other cities: Houston, $2.92; Salt Lake City, $2.92; Atlanta, $2.96; Las Vegas, $2.99; Seattle, $3.02; Los Angeles, $3.18; Milwaukee, $3.24; Hartford, Conn., $3.24; Pittsburgh, $3.00 ___________ |
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