Plenty of gas to go around for the holiday weekend

Don't rush to the pumps all at once, now.

Yes, gasoline prices are as low as they've been - this time of the year - in ages, but that's no reason to push and shove or be unfriendly.There's plenty of gas to go around. That's one reason it's so inexpensive, relatively speaking.

Gasoline prices in the Salt Lake Valley and elsewhere in the United States have gone up several cents a gallon during the past few weeks.

But that's normal. It's springtime, people are hitting the road more often - and using more gasoline. (For more information, refer to the "supply and demand" section in your freshman economics textbook.)

What is unusual, however, is that prices were so low to begin with when the annual spring price-hike kicked into gear. A mild winter in the United States and a sluggish economy in eastern Asia have combined to keep gasoline supply up and demand down.

The bottom line is, you'll pay about $1.14 for a gallon of unleaded regular when you fill your tank for your Memorial Day weekend getaway. That's 15 cents cheaper than you would have paid this time last year.

And when you consider that Utah lawmakers raised the tax on gasoline by a nickel a gallon last July, you're really buying gas that's 20 cents cheaper than it was a year ago.

So, fill up and head out. But, unless you're passing, stay in the slow lane - you'll have a lot of company out there.

"We fully anticipate summer driving demand to be at record levels, or close to record levels, this summer" because of low fuel costs, said Thomas Brill, economist for the Utah Office of Energy and Resource Planning. "People do respond to lower prices by driving more."

Gasoline prices in May of 1996 were even higher than last year's, averaging $1.36 for a gallon of unleaded, according to the Office of Energy and Resource Planning. The lowest May price in the 1990s was $1.07 a gallon in 1994. The average price in May of 1989 was $1.21.

According to the American Automobile Association, unleaded prices across Utah have risen about nine cents a gallon since April 8, averaging $1.15 a gallon this week. That's about a nickel higher than the national average of $1.10, according to AAA.

"Smaller markets like Utah are more susceptible to sudden price jumps," said Alan Kovski of The Oil Daily, an industry newsletter based in Washington, D.C.