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Gas Prices On the Move Up

Average price up almost $1 over last year

By Joe Benton
ConsumerAffairs.com

January 4, 2008

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As the new year gets going so do gasoline prices, up almost a dollar a gallon over this time last year.

According to AAA, the average price for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline is now $3.07, up from roughly $2.15 at this time last year.

Gas prices have climbed along with oil prices and gasoline is likely to increase another 5 cents over the next week before leveling off or declining slightly.

The highest recorded average price in the U.S. is $3.23 for a gallon for unleaded regular on May 24, 2007.

There is still some relatively inexpensive gasoline to be pumped. A gallon of regular self serve costs $2.60 in Golden, Colorado. At the other end of the price line is Bedford, New York, where a gallon of regulars costs $3.75.

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

California: Gas price declines are over, at least for now. Pump prices raced up by a penny a day in most of the state during the first week of the new year, according to the Automobile Club of Southern California's Weekend Gas Watch.

The average gasoline price in California is now $3.33 with San Francisco leading the way at $3.50 a gallon.

The average price of self-serve regular gasoline in the Los Angeles-Long Beach area is $3.30, which is 8.1 cents higher than last week, 5 cents less than last month, and 68 cents more than last year.

In San Diego, the price is $3.32, which is 6.1 cents more than last week's price, 7 cents down from last month, and 63 cents higher than last year.

On the Central Coast, the average price is $3.41, up 3.5 cents from last week, 2 cents below last month, and 58 cents more than last year.

In the Inland Empire, the average price is $3.29, 8.1 cents above last week, 5 cents below last month, and 65 cents higher than last year.

"Oil industry analysts are pointing to ongoing record crude prices as the reason behind continued high pump prices both in California and nationwide, with the national average now standing at $3.05 a gallon," said Auto Club spokesperson Jeffrey Spring. "One month of price decreases in California between Thanksgiving and Christmas brought averages down by less than 20 cents before they started heading back up in the last week and a half."

Texas: Retail gasoline prices are sharply higher in Texas.

The weekly AAA Texas gas price survey reports regular self-serve is averaging $2.93 per gallon at pumps in 10 Texas cities. That is a 9 cent increase in just one week.

Auto club spokeswoman Rose Rougeau said the increase is because of the spike in crude oil prices, which topped $100 per barrel for the first time this week.

The cheapest gas in Texas is found in El Pas for $2.83 per gallon, up 3 cents from last week. The most expensive gas is in Texarkana for $3.02 per gallon, a 12 cent jump in one week.

Michigan: Statewide, the average price for a gallon of unleaded gasoline jumped 6 cents, to $3.13 a gallon.

A gallon of regular sells for $3.12 in Detroit, $3.13 in Flint, $3.15, in Ann Arbor and $3.21 in Marquette.

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