NEBRASKA /A.P. SPORTS
RECORD GAS AND DIESEL PRICES OVER THE WEEKEND
By John Axtell and Associated Press
Apr 20, 2008 - 7:44:20 PM

Nebraska and South Dakota both set record prices for gasoline over the weekend. Triple-A says the average price for regular unleaded in Nebraska hit $3.45 per gallon Saturday, breaking the previous high of $3.43 set last May...while SD's price was $3.47.45.

Diesel also set records...hitting $4.19 in Nebraska and $4.13 in SD.

Three Nebraska cities — Lincoln, Norfolk and North Platte — saw the average price of regular unleaded at $3.50 or higher on Saturday.  Rapid City Saturday was $3.35...still a little less than 2-cents a gallon under the record set last month.

Triple-A spokesman Rose White says increasing global demand is a major factor in the rise in gas prices, with crude oil prices more than tripling from $36 a barrel in 2004 to $117 last week.

Gas prices are still a little lower than they were in 1981 when adjusted for inflation. At the height of that energy crisis, the average person spent about 8% of disposable income on energy. They spent about 6% on energy at the end of last year.

White says increasing gas prices will continue to have a ripple effect on the nation's economy, with no drop in prices expected till the third or fourth quarter of this year at the earliest.

That's when a gigantic oil refinery being built in India is expected to begin producing fuel.

California has the nation’s most expensive gasoline at $3.84, followed by Hawaii at $3.75 and Alaska at $3.72. Wyoming prices averaged on Saturday $3.32

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