How are gas prices tracked?

Question: When you have an article reporting the average price of a gallon of gasoline, is the average for regular, a simple average of the prices for three grades, or a weighted average accounting for the different market shares for the three grades? -- Dave Wordkinger, Medical Lake

Answer: According to the local office of the AAA, when that organization releases gas-price trends, it's always based on the price of regular unleaded. We recently ran an article about gas prices in California based on data from the Energy Information Administration, a unit of the Department of Energy. According to their Web site, that average also is based on a gallon of regular unleaded. More information about gas (and diesel) prices is available from that Web site. -- Addy Hatch, business editor

Posted by Ken :: 04:20 PM Mar 1

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Editors Steve Smith, Gary Graham, Ken Sands, Doug Floyd and Carla Savalli answer readers' questions about The Spokesman-Review's editorial decisions and operations. Submit your questions here.

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About Steve Smith

Steve Smith has been editor of The Spokesman-Review since July 2002. Before coming to Spokane, he served as editor of The Statesman-Journal in Salem, Ore., and The Gazette in Colorado Springs, Colo. Smith is married to Alexa Conway Smith, an independent computer consultant and has two children by a previous marriage, Sam, who is 17 years old, and Alissa, who is 13.

About Gary Graham

Gary Graham is managing editor of The Spokesman-Review. He recently moved to Spokane from Binghamton, N.Y., where he had been managing editor of the Press & Sun-Bulletin in for six years. Graham grew up in Fort Wayne, Indiana. He graduated from Ball State University in 1972. He is married and has one son.

About Ken Sands

Ken Sands is managing editor of online and new media for The Spokesman-Review. He has been a reporter and editor at The Spokesman-Review since 1981. Ken grew up in Portland, Ore., and is a graduate of the University of Oregon. He and his wife have two children.

About Doug Floyd

Doug Floyd is editorial page editor of The Spokesman-Review. He moved to Spokane in 1969 after graduating from college and then spending three years in the U.S. Army. He is married and has two grown children and two grandchildren.

About Carla Savalli