Gasoline Prices

Pump prices in California and around much of the nation continued their ever-so-slow crawl higher over the past week, the Energy Department said Monday. But analysts said gasoline costs might be kicked into a higher gear by a resurgent oil market. The average cost of a gallon of self-serve regular gasoline in California rose 1.5 cents to $2.355, according to the government's weekly survey of filling stations. Nationally, the average increased 2.9 cents to $2.

With rising oil prices providing a brisk tail wind, gasoline prices jumped during the last week, rising nearly 7 cents a gallon in California and more than 16 cents across the U.S., the Energy Department said Monday. The average price per gallon of self-serve regular gas in California rose 6.9 cents to $2.424, according to the government's weekly survey of fuel stations. Nationally, the average increased 16.2 cents to $2.240, led by the Midwestern states, which saw a bump of 20.6 cents.

Retail gasoline prices increased sharply again over the last week, while oil futures rose to the highest close since November. The average price of a gallon of regular gasoline in California jumped 11.9 cents to $2.756 a gallon, according to the Energy Department's weekly survey of filling stations. That was the nation's biggest rise, ahead of the Midwest's 11.7-cent climb to $2.585 a gallon, helping drive the national average up 8.9 cents to $2.524 a gallon.

California again had the dubious distinction of having the highest gasoline prices in the continental U.S. over the last week, the Energy Department said Monday. Tight supplies helped kick the average price of a gallon of regular gasoline in California up 13.5 cents to $2.891, according to the Energy Department's weekly survey of filling stations. That was still $1.542 below the year-earlier price. California helped push the national average higher.

Three-dollar-a-gallon gasoline is back, and nobody's happy about it. Oh, wait -- actually, there are plenty of people happy about it: the commodity speculators who've been helping to drive up prices of oil and other raw materials for the last five months. The price of crude reached an eight-month high of $72.68 a barrel Thursday, before slipping to end Friday at $72.04. Oil now is up 113% from its five-year low in December.

Gasoline prices have slowed their hair-raising climb, an Energy Department report showed Monday as the average price of a gallon in California closed in on the $3 mark. Prices rose even though oil lost some momentum because of a strengthening dollar. Crude oil for July delivery finished the day down $1.42 at $70.62 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. But analysts were still wondering when gasoline prices would finally fall.

Retail gasoline prices continued to trickle down in California and nationwide in the last week as worries about the economy kept many people close to home over the Fourth of July weekend. Investors sharing those concerns sent the price of crude oil down Monday for a fourth straight trading day. The average price of a gallon of self-serve regular gasoline in California fell 3.2 cents to $2.952 a gallon Monday, according to the Energy Department's weekly survey of filling stations.

Retail gasoline prices dropped an average of 8.4 cents a gallon nationwide in the last week to $2.528 a gallon for regular grade, the Energy Department said Monday. The price drop was the third weekly decline in a row, in part because of crude oil, which hit an eight-week low Monday. The average price of a gallon of regular gasoline in California dropped 7.2 cents to $2.88, down $1.64 from a year earlier, the government's weekly survey of filling stations found. The U.S.

The average retail price of gasoline fell about 5 cents a gallon in California and nearly 7 cents nationwide over the last week, the Energy Department said Monday, as prices continued to recede from the highs of the year set June 22. The average cost of a gallon of regular gasoline statewide dropped to $2.829, down 5.1 cents for the week and 17.6 cents since June 22, according to the Energy Department's weekly survey of filling stations. The U.S. average declined 6.5 cents to $2.

Pump prices have begun rising again across much of the U.S., the Energy Department said, ending a four-week run of declines as retail gasoline prices followed oil prices higher. The average price for a gallon of regular gasoline in the U.S. increased 4 cents over the last week to $2.503, the Energy Department reported, based on its weekly survey of filling stations. California's average remained unchanged at $2.829. Gas prices had been on a steady decline from a peak on June 22 of $2.