The average price for regular gasoline across the nation was a record $3.508 a gallon April 21, eclipsing the inflation-adjusted peak of $3.413 set in March 1981 — $1.417 back then — according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
The weekly average rose 11.9 cents from last week. Diesel was $4.143, up 8.4 cents.
Separately, the AAA and the Oil Price Information Service, which use a different method, reported a U.S. gasoline average of $3.503 on April 21.
The two surveys emphasize what Americans already know: However the price is measured, fuel is more expensive than it’s ever been.
Increases Likely
Drivers are cutting back. Gasoline sales have fallen 2 percent to 11 percent a month since December in a study by 13 owners of stations scattered across the country that are not direct competitors, says Jay Ricker, a member of a study group. He’s president of Ricker Oil, which runs 30 Marathon and BP stations in Indiana.
“People aren’t getting used to these prices,” he says. “I’m hearing more comments, people saying, ‘I need to get a more fuel-efficient car next time.’ ”
Expect no relief. EIA predicts regional averages as high as $4 in the next few months. And the price of crude oil, which EIA says accounts for about 72 percent of the gas price, continues to zoom. It closed Nymex trading April 21 at a record $117.48, up 79 cents from April 18.
Prices A Hardship
Americans already were feeling pinched, according to a USA Today/Gallup Poll five weeks ago, when gasoline averaged about $3.28. About 63 percent said fuel prices were a hardship. That’s the biggest percentage recorded since 2005 by the poll, which has asked the question since February 2000.
The exceptions: 69 percent in late August 2005 and 72 percent in September 2005, when Hurricane Katrina slowed oil production.
