Gas prices nudge Utah cost of living up

"Ugh!" and variations on that theme — some mild, some not — were the utterances heard at the gas pump Friday morning when the Deseret News dropped by as part of its monthly cost-of-living check.

The cost of a gallon of unleaded gasoline shot up 30 cents over the past month to $2.08, an increase of 16.8 percent. And Rolayne Fairclough, AAA Utah spokeswoman, said the prices are likely to go even higher this summer, although they are probably not going to approach "those dastardly levels" of last July when gasoline cost more than $4 a gallon.

Still, gasoline was the only significantly more expensive item in the newspaper's imaginary shopping spree, where the cost of a cart stuffed with 15 commonly used goods rose less than half a percent. And some of the basics — milk, frozen corn, hamburger, cookies and blue jeans — actually cost a little less this month than in early April.

The majority of the items — including laundry soap, diapers, eggs, cereal, bananas, a movie ticket and takeout pizza — cost the same as they did four weeks ago.

"Everything will go up again if gas continues to rise," said Cliff Emerson, who was giving his sport utility vehicle a drink from the gas pump. "And that's a pretty steep hike."

Fairclough says gasoline prices typically go up over the summer, and Utah and the Intermountain West typically are in the "top tier of gas prices, above the national average."

The automobile club is predicting the national average cost of a gallon of gas may reach $2.50 sometime this summer. Only time will tell if Utah gas prices once more rise higher than the national average.

AAA's Daily Fuel Gauge Report, produced in conjunction with Oil Price Information Service and Wright Express, said the price for gasoline in the Provo-Orem and Salt Lake-Ogden areas ranged from around $2.075 for regular unleaded to $2.284 for premium and $2.32 for diesel.

For the year, gasoline prices peaked mid-July at an average of $4.17 in Utah. Diesel peaked in June at $4.73.

E-mail: lois@desnews.com