Though the price of gas has decreased statewide, most local gas merchants are in disagreement about the causes.

Steve Daggers, a spokesman for the Triple A Motor Club in Des Plaines, said the average price for a gallon of unleaded regular gas is $1.14 throughout DeKalb and most of the state. In Cook County the average price is $1.21.

Daggers said there will be “a stable to lower trend throughout March.”

Daggers cites three reasons for the lower prices: an ample supply of gas, a decreased demand and the coalition’s success in the Gulf War.

Nelson Gotshall, the manager of Checker Gas, 1101 N. First St., said his prices went down to $1.03 three days ago. He said the decrease was probably a result of the recession and not the war.

Sam Humes, the assistant manager at Sebby Shell, 175 W. Lincoln Hwy., said he doesn’t think the war had anything to do with the decrease either.

umes said the price has dropped four or five times in a row. He said he thinks the price will go up in the spring when people start taking vacations.

Not all stations reported a decrease in prices. Jon Bockman, Manager of Bockman’s Amoco, 705 E. Lincoln Hwy., said a gallon of gas went up half a cent on March 1. He said he estimates during the war the highest price was $1.36 for a gallon of regular lead-free and $1.69 for their premium brand.

A gallon of gas at the Minuteman, 124 N. Annie Glidden Road, went from 98 cents to $1.03 over the weekend, said manager Nancy Brown.

“I think that the price of gas will be going up,” Brown said. “The oil spills and blow-ups (in Kuwait) may affect the market in the next six months.”

Ralph Stow, a spokesman for the Amoco corporation in Chicago said that a “major influence in gasoline prices is supply and demand.” He said that one of the principle factors determining price is the commodity market and not the war.

Stow said when Iraq invaded Kuwait, the fears of a shortage caused prices to go up. When it was discovered there was an ample supply of gas, prices went down, he said.