Our gas prices are 6th-highest in nation

seattlepi.nwsource.com Tuesday, March 18, 2003 SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER STAFF AND NEWS SERVICES

Washington state has the sixth-highest gasoline prices in the country on a day when the nation's average price of regular gas was at its highest in history.

The average price of regular gas was $1.728 a gallon, the Energy Department said. AAA, which tracks thousands of stations across the country, also saw a national record.

Washington's average was $1.862 a gallon for regular. Only California, Hawaii, Nevada, Oregon and Arizona had higher average gas prices, according to the automobile association.

In the Puget Sound region, a gallon of regular gas was selling for an average of $1.897 yesterday, topping the state. That compares with $1.270 a year ago.

Gasoline prices have increased as crude oil inventories have dropped to their lowest levels in nearly three decades, drawn down by a strike in Venezuela that curtailed exports and boosted prices. The possibility of a further supply disruption from a war in Iraq has also raised crude oil and gasoline prices.

The previous high in both national surveys came in May 2001, amid low supplies of cleaner-burning reformulated gasoline in many urban areas and a spate of refinery disruptions. Prices usually peak nationally in May and June when demand rises as the weather warms.

The average nationwide price for regular-grade gasoline rose 1.6 cents in the week ended yesterday, the government data showed. It has climbed for 13 of the past 14 weeks and added 34 percent from $1.288 a year ago. The Energy Department surveys about 900 gas stations.

AAA, which updates its prices daily with data from the previous business day's credit card transactions at more than 60,000 gasoline stations, said prices reached $1.719 a gallon