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Brief Gas Price Decline Ends

Prices jumped half a cent overnight

By Joe Benton
ConsumerAffairs.com

March 26, 2008

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The short-lived relief from rising gasoline prices has ended, with the cost of a gallon of regular self-serve jumping more than a half a cent overnight, according to the motorist group AAA.

The nationwide average price of regular unleaded gasoline hit $3.261 overnight, up from $3.255. the new price is 67 cents higher than one year ago and 12.4 cents higher than one month ago.

Mid-grade gasoline now sells for $3.462 a gallon and premium sells for $3.588. Gas prices hit an all-time high of $3.285 a gallon March 16, according to the AAA Fuel Gauge Report Web site.

The cost of diesel is still above the $4 mark at $4.027, according to AAA after recording a record price of $4.037 March 22.

Hawaii now has the highest average gasoline prices in the country at $3.642. California is a close second at $3.624.

Gasoline prices in Missouri, Minnesota and New Jersey are the lowest in the country averaging less than $3.10 a gallon.

The most expensive gallon of regular gasoline is on sale in Mendocino, California for $4.30. The cheapest gallon is found in Springfield, Missouri for $2.88.

Regional prices

Over the last week on a regional basis, prices for regular gasoline fell throughout the country with the exception of the Rocky Mountain region.

The average price on the East Coast was $3.241 per gallon. The price in the Midwest was $3.192. In the Gulf Coast region, regular gasoline averaged $3.166 per gallon.

In the Rocky Mountains the price hit $3.198 and on the West Coast the average price remained the highest in the country at $3.517 per gallon, 50.1 cents above the price last year.

Diesel fuel

For the sixth week in a row, average retail diesel prices increased, and for the fifth consecutive week, the U.S. average price for retail diesel reached yet another all-time high. High prices for diesel fuel drive up the cost of transporting consumer products and may be quickly reflected in prices of groceries and other essentials.

However, while prices continued to increase, the pace of the increase slowed.

Prices remained at all-time high levels in all regions of the country, exceeding $4.10 per gallon in some areas.

On the East Coast, the average price of diesel was up by 1 cent to $4.045 per gallon, $1.388 per gallon higher than last year.

In the Midwest, the price increased by 0.6 cent, the smallest increase of any region, to reach $3.964 per gallon, an increase of $1.309 from a year ago.

The price in the Gulf Coast went up 1.4 cents to $3.928 cents per gallon, the lowest price of any region.

The average price in the Rocky Mountains increased the most of any region, moving up by 6.1 cents to $3.953 per gallon.

On the West Coast, the average price increased by 3.8 cents to $4.056 per gallon, $1.253 above the price a year ago. The average price in California grew by 3.6 cents to $4.119 per gallon, $1.25 above the price a year ago.

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