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Gas price down in West, up elsewhere Wire and staff reports LOS ANGELES -- Gasoline prices in the West have dropped while prices are up around the rest of the country. Prices nationwide surged more than 1 1/2 cents in the past two weeks because crude oil prices continue to increase, an industry analyst said Sunday. The weighted average nationwide as of Friday was $1.3341, up 1.63 cents per gallon from a Sept. 10 survey, said Trilby Lundberg, who directs the Lundberg survey of 10,000 gasoline stations across the nation. A four-cent-a-gallon dip, however, is occurred in the West, which continues to recover from a gas shortage prompted by Northern California refinery fires in the spring, Lundberg said. The Rogue Valley has also glimpsed a bit of relief. As of Sunday, prices ranged from $1.49 for regular unleaded at stations like the Texaco on Barnett Road and the Exxon on Crater Lake Highway to a $1.47 at the Towne Pump on Crater Lake Avenue and $1.45 at the Arco AM/PM off South Pacific Highway. The Lundberg survey showed a national average price for self service regular unleaded gasoline of $1.2817. Mid-grade unleaded was $1.3803 and premium unleaded was $1.4652. The price hike in most areas resulted from crude oil prices that have jumped by more than $1.20 per barrel, Lundberg said. For full service regular unleaded, the survey showed the average price was $1.6112 with mid-grade at $1.6976 and premium at $1.7720. That compares with average prices in the West on Friday of $1.3876 for self-serve regular, falling from $1.4311 on Sept. 10, Lundberg said. San Francisco's Bay Area still reports the nation's highest average prices, Lundberg said. Self-serve regular unleaded was $1.5813, compared with $1.6315 on Sept. 10, she said. Atlanta has the nation's lowest average price with self-serve regular unleaded at $1.1151 and the Midwest showed a price hike higher than the national average, rising from $1.2356 on Sept. 10 to $1.2763 on Friday, Lundberg said. Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA