Alaska has a big vested interest in high oil and gas prices. Oil revenue accounts for 90% of the state’s tax haul. So its budget swells and oil royalties gush into a special state investment fund — the only one of its kind in the United States. And that can translate into windfalls for residents, who share in the oil bounty through annual dividends paid by the fund and, in boom times, direct payments from the state. For example, when oil and gas hit record highs in 2008, residents received $3,000 checks, twice what they normally get.
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Inflation picked up slightly last month, as rising gas prices took a bigger bite out of consumers’ wallets.The government’s key measure of inflation, the Consumer Price Index, showed prices rose 0.2% from December to January, slightly weaker than the 0.3% increase economists had predicted. Rising prices at the gas pump were a key factor, increasing 0.9% during the month, the Labor Department said. Improving U.S. economic data, including stronger job growth, and tension with Iran have been driving the price of oil and gasoline higher. Gas prices ended last month at a national average of $3.443 a gallon, according to the AAA Fuel Gauge Report.
