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Gas Prices Rise a Penny

Average nationwide price $2.81, up from $2.34 last year

By Joe Benton
ConsumerAffairs.com

September 28, 2007

• Why Are Oil Prices Falling? • Labor Day Gas Prices Up a Penny • Gas Prices Fall for 37 Days • Gas Prices Slide 8 Percent from Record • Gas Prices Creep Down • Oil Price Trend May Be Good News For Consumers • Gasoline Drops Below $3.90 a Gallon • Gas Prices Pull Back Slowly • Oil Prices Fall As Storm Misses Rigs • Latest Gas Price Round-Up • 'Run Your Car On Water' Scheme Could Leave Consumers All Wet • Unregulated Energy Trading Blamed for Much of Gas Price Gusher • Airlines Join Effort To Limit Oil Speculators • Questions Raised about MyGallons.com • 'Hypermiling' Is Dangerous, Says AAA • Struggling Drivers Blame Washington for High Gas Prices • What’s Really Fueling Those Sky-High Oil Prices • Credit Card Fees at the Pump are a 'Hidden Tax' on Consumers • Survey: 3 Out of 4 Angry About High Gas Prices • $2 A Gallon Gas Possible, Analysts Tell Congress • Speculators Buy More Oil Contracts Than Oil Companies • Saudis to Pump More Oil • Limiting Oil Speculators Gains Ground • Congress To Probe Oil Price Spike • Oil Market 'Saturated,' Iran Claims • Feds See No Relief from High Gas Prices • High Gas Prices Could Mean Lower Insurance Rates • High Gas Prices Good For Kia, Honda • Gas Prices Rip Past $4 and Keep Climbing • Administration, OPEC See Different Causes Of Oil Surge • Feds Probing Possible Oil Market Manipulation • Beware of Fuel Sippers Sipping High-Test • Retailers Respond to High Gas Prices with Discounts, Promotions • Rushing Into a Smaller Car Too Soon May Not Save Money • Hybrid Sales and Prices Climb in Lockstep with Gas Prices • Truckers Bemoan Burden of High Diesel Costs • Gas Prices Biting into Worker Productivity • Consumers Warned About Gas-Saving Schemes • Is Tony Soprano Controlling Gas Prices? • Oil & Gas: The New Bubble • Critics: New Federal Gas Mileage Standard Falls Short • Consumers Feeling Pain of Skyrocketing Gas Prices • New Gas Price Record Forecasts Expensive Summer Driving Season --- • More ...

The national average gasoline price is up just one penny in a week, not enough to make headlines but still relieving consumers of as much as $2.81 for a gallon of self-serve regular.

One month ago regular self-serve gasoline sold for $2.76 and one year ago a gallon cost $2.34, making 2006 the last of the good old days.

Mid-grade gasoline now sells for $2.98 and premium goes for $3.08 a gallon.

The most expensive gallon of regular gasoline is found at pumps in St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands. The cheapest gallon is found in the Garden State of New Jersey in Laurence Harbor for $2.34.

Here is a look as some gasoline prices from around the country in the ConsumerAffairs.com Gas Price Round Up.

California: Gas prices continue to rise, although at a slower pace than in the prior four weeks, according to the Automobile Club of Southern California's Weekend Gas Watch.

The average price of self-serve regular gasoline in the Los Angeles-Long Beach area is $2.96, which is 2.9 cents higher than last week, 21 cents above last month, and 19 cents more than last year.

In San Diego, the price is $2.99, which is 2.7 cents above last week's price, 18 cents up from last month, and 30 cents higher than last year.

On the Central Coast, the average price is $3.10, up five-tenths of a cent from last week, 12 cents above last month, and 10 cents more than last year.

In the Inland Empire, the average price is $2.96, 2.8 cents more than last week, 21 cents above last month, and 22 cents higher than last year.

"Southern California has experienced a gas price spike in the fall in all but two years since 2000, so it isn't unusual," said Auto Club spokesperson Carol Thorp. "However, the reason for the spike seems to change each year. This year we're seeing a jump in oil prices and concerns over hurricane weather in the Gulf of Mexico, and that is affecting gas prices nationwide."

Texas: After three weeks of holding steady, Texas gas prices inched slightly higher this week to $2.71 a gallon, according to the AAA Texas Weekend Gas Watch.

"Gas prices have remained fairly stable the last few weeks," said AAA Texas spokesperson Paul Flaningan. "However, rising crude oil prices may be felt at the pump in the very near future."

Once again Amarillo posted the highest average in the state on this week's survey at $2.87 a gallon. Houston's gas price increased more than two cents this week but it continues to post the lowest average in the state at $2.62.

AAA Texas is offering this fuel savings tip to drivers in the Lone Star State:

Know the correct starting procedure for your car. Don't race a cold engine to warm it up or allow it to idle for an extended time. Avoid rapid acceleration until the engine temperature is in the normal range. The engine will warm up faster under a light load, and emissions equipment will begin to function sooner.

Michigan: Gasoline prices continue to fall heading into the weekend, despite oil prices hovering around the $83-a-barrel mark.

Drivers in Michigan are paying an average of $2.95 a gallon at weeks end, according to AAA Michigan.

The national average for fuel is now $2.81 a gallon, making pump prices in Michigan the eight-highest in America behind Hawaii ($3.22), Alaska ($3), California ($2.99), Illinois ($2.96), Montana ($2.97), North Dakota ($2.99) and Washington ($2.97).

Prices in metro Detroit are ranging from $2.83 a gallon throughout Sterling Heights, Inkster and Detroit to $3.19 a gallon at several stations in Ann Arbor, according to AAA.

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