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Gas prices up, but price fallback seen
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July 27, 1999
Web posted at: 2:48 p.m. EDT (1848 GMT)
In this story: Supply down, demand up Where to find highest, lowest gas prices RELATED STORIES, SITES 
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ATLANTA (CNN) -- While the price of gasoline in recent days has gone up about a nickel a gallon -- less than a dollar per fill-up on many cars -- that may be the highest it will go all summer, analysts say.
The national average, including all grades and taxes, is currently about $1.27, up 5.18 cents from the previous survey conducted July 9, says Trilby Lundberg, publisher of the Lundberg Survey of 10,000 gas stations nationwide.
It is the highest price in more than 18 months and the biggest hike nationally since late March, according to the industry analyst. This comes after prices dropped significantly between early May and early June.
Pump prices are high compared with last year, but are comparable with prices in 1996 and 1997 during the same period, Lundberg said.
Factors in the recent rise include:
Put it all together -- increased demand coupled with reduced production -- and you get higher prices, says economist Donald Ratajczak of Georgia State University.
"Gas demand, which had been growing very slowly during the energy crisis of the '70s, now has started to kick back up again, and we're seeing demand grow 4 percent a year," he told CNN.
Where to find highest, lowest gas prices
Pump prices were rising throughout the country, Lundberg said, but most dramatically in the West.
Northern California, for example, has the country's highest gasoline prices, averaging $1.63 per gallon. As much as 10 cents of that figure is due to refinery expenses for the production of extra-clean gas required to meet the state's strict emissions standards.
In Atlanta, on the other hand, it's possible to fill up for less than a dollar a gallon. The state gas tax in Georgia is 14 cents a gallon, about half what it is in the rest of the country.
Ratajczak expects higher gas prices nationwide to translate into a slight rise in the inflation rate, but there's also good news down the road.
Analysts say prices are probably at their summer high point right now, and could begin to drop slightly by fall -- good news for drivers in a state famed for its freeways.
"There's more of a mindset that this is a short-term situation," said Rob Schlichting, a spokesman for the California Energy Commission.
Correspondent Dan Ronan contributed to this report, written by Jim Morris
RELATED STORIES:
U.S. gas prices hit recent high
July 25, 1999
Gas prices on rise
June 27, 1999
Gas prices going up, but bargains still to be found
April 9, 1999
RELATED SITES:
U.S. Energy Information Administration
• Energy Price Page
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