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PRESS RELEASE

AAA Announces Slight Drop in January Gas Prices

18 February 1997

Gasoline Price Down Slightly, First Drop In 5 Months

    ORLANDO, Fla., Feb. 18 -- The national average gasoline price
fell slightly since January -- the first decrease in five months, according to
AAA.
    AAA's monthly Fuel Gauge Report shows the average price of self-serve
regular unleaded gasoline is $1.287 per gallon, down .1 cent since January and
15.8 cents higher than one year ago.  The price rose in each of the last four
months of 1996 and was unchanged in January.
    The average price of self-serve mid-grade unleaded is $1.366 per gallon,
.5 cent less than last month and 14.2 cents above a year ago.  Self-serve
premium is $1.436, .3 cent lower than a month ago and 12.9 cents more than
last year.
    Self-serve regular unleaded is most expensive in the West at $1.366 per
gallon, up 1.8 cents from last month and 13.7 cents higher than a year ago.
It is least expensive in the Southeast at $1.215, .3 cent less than a month
ago and 16.1 cents more than last year.
    Other regional prices for self-serve are:  New England, $1.327 per gallon,
down 1.8 cents in one month and 15.2 cents higher than last year; Mid-
Atlantic, $1.311, down 1 cent this month and up 18.4 cents from a year ago;
Great Lakes, $1.263, down 1.6 cents from last month and 15.2 cents higher than
last year; Midwest, $1.266, down .4 cent this month and up 16.4 cents from a
year ago; and Southwest, $1.26, up 2.3 cents in one month and 15.2 cents more
than last year.
    The national average prices for self-serve regular unleaded gasoline for
the last six months were:  January, $1.288 per gallon; December, $1.288;
November, $1.277; October, $1.259; September, $1.255; and August, $1.253.
    The national average prices for self-serve regular unleaded gasoline in
February for the last five years were:  1996, $1.129 per gallon; 1995, $1,118;
1994, $1.069; 1993, $1.093; and 1992, $1.049.
    AAA's Fuel Gauge Report is based on data from Oil Price Information
Service of Rockville, Md.
    AAA is a not-for-profit federation of 99 motor clubs with more than
1,000 offices providing more than 39 million members in the U.S. and Canada
with travel, insurance, financial and auto-related services.

SOURCE  American Automobile Association

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CONTACT: Jerry Cheske or Mike Morrissey, 407-444-8000, both of the American
Automobile Association