Gasoline prices near record high

As gasoline prices hit $1.60 per gallon this week in the Kansas City area, Reuters reports:

U.S. retail gasoline prices are likely to hit a record high of about $1.83 per gallon this spring due to tight global supplies, then decline a little in the summer driving months, the government said on Tuesday. . .

The Energy Information Administration predicted the nationwide monthly average pump price will peak at about $1.83 per gallon this spring, then average about $1.74 per gallon throughout the summer months.

"This would be a record in nominal dollar terms and the highest inflation-adjusted summer average since 1985," the EIA said in its monthly supply and demand report. The agency is the statistical arm of the U.S. Energy Department.

Want to save a little at the pump? Try these tips:

• Carpool or take the bus/transit
  
• Combine errands into a single trip; try patronizing a shopping area where you can walk, rather than drive, from one store to the next
  
• Walk or ride your bike on short trips near your home.

Short trips--less than 3 miles--give you the worst gas mileage, wear your car's engine the most, and pollute the most. They are also the easiest to replace by walking or bicycling!