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.

Retail gasoline prices jumped higher over the last week in California and most of the nation, adding to what was already a record start for a new year. The average price of a gallon of regular gasoline in California rose 7.2 cents to $3.707, shattering the old record for this time of year: $3.332 a gallon, set last year, according to the Energy Department's weekly survey of filling stations. The U.S. average rose 8.3 cents to $3.382. That easily surpassed the old record for this time of year: $3.089 a gallon, also set last year.

Gasoline prices are keeping up their record-setting ways. California drivers paid an average of $4.358 for a gallon of regular gasoline, up 6.6 cents from a week earlier, the Energy Department said Monday. That's a fresh record high for this time of year and is 48.4 cents above the year-earlier price. Nationally, the average rose 7.2 cents to $3.793, also a record for this week, according to Energy Department statistics. A year earlier, the average U.S. price was 27.3 cents lower.

Expect a bit of a shock if you fill up your gas tanks in Southern California this week. The average price of a gallon of regular gasoline in the state has jumped 23.4 cents since last Monday, according to the AAA Fuel Gauge Report. Most of the spike has been driven by the state's southern counties. PHOTOS: Best car values for fuel economy Los Angeles and Long Beach, for example, are averaging $4.017 a gallon, up 24.8 cents over the past week. Orange County gasoline is averaging $4.002 a gallon, up 26.1 cents since last Monday.

Retail gasoline prices in California rose for the first time in nine weeks, according to the Energy Department's weekly fuel price survey. The national average also rose modestly over the last week. In California, the average cost of a gallon of regular gasoline was $3.753 on Monday, up 0.2 cents since July 9. California prices were 4.7 cents a gallon below what they were a year earlier. The national average rose 1.6 cents to $3.427 a gallon, the Energy Department said. That's 25.5 cents below the average a year earlier.

The average price of a gallon of regular gasoline rose slightly across most of the nation over the last week, according to the AAA Fuel Gauge Report. In California, the average climbed 1.8 cents to $3.798 a gallon. The U.S. average rose 1.5 cents to $3.486 a gallon. Analysts attributed the rise to the recovery in U.S. oil prices. Crude futures are again hovering around the $90 a barrel level after falling to the lowest price of the year of $77.69 a barrel during the final week of June.

Only once in the last 20 years have gasoline prices peaked before mid-May. Oil prices haven't been that remarkably predictable, but one could usually expect them to peak sometime during the U.S. summer driving season, experts say. But in 2012, the old patterns don't seem to apply. The U.S. average for a gallon of regular gasoline has dropped steadily since April 5, when it reached its high for the year, so far, of $3.926 a gallon, according to Marie Montgomery, a spokeswoman for the Automobile Club of Southern California.