Gas prices a far cry from just three months ago

Gas prices have gone up, but don't expect to see prices as they were in September.

Friday, many stations went to $1.09 per gallon of gasoline, though some only went to $1.05 per gallon.

Thursday, some stations tried selling gas at $1.19 per gallon, but lowered prices Friday to $1.09 per gallon.

Brainerd isn't alone. Barbara Buchholz, communications manager at AAA Minnesota-Iowa, said her office has received calls of rising gas prices from other places in Minnesota.

Still, the current gas prices are a far cry from only three months ago.

On Sept. 11 gas prices in Brainerd were between $1.69-$1.89 per gallon. After Sept. 11 gas prices dropped steadily, reaching 99 cents per gallon at several Brainerd and Baxter stations last week.

"The demand is relatively low, even though we've seen an increase, this is the time of year with not a lot of seasonal demands," said Buchholz. "We're also still seeing effects of Sept. 11, with people not wanting to travel."

Brainerd gas stations Friday were in line with the Minnesota per gallon price of $1.09 for gasoline. The nationwide average Friday was $1.14 per gallon of gasoline. A year ago the average price of gasoline in Minnesota was $1.50 per gallon.

The cause of the most recent gas price increase, Buchholz said, is probably attributable to an increase in West Texas Crude oil, which Wednesday reached $19.23 per barrel, a high in recent months but still $7 per barrel lower than at the end of August, when West Texas crude sold for $28.25 per barrel.

The August 2001 prices themselves are about $5-$7 below what they were in 2000, when OPEC cutbacks in crude oil production drove the price of oil up, thus driving gas prices up.

West Texas crude dropped to $18.63 per barrel Thursday. There is also a question of what cutbacks the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries will make in its crude oil production.

While it has been agreed to reduce production, OPEC has not made an announcement as to how many barrels a day it will reduce as it tries to gain support for cutbacks from other non-OPEC oil producing countries, Buchholz said.