Complain about a product or service

Gas Prices Rise for 13 Days in a Row

National average price may hit $4 before long

By Joe Benton
ConsumerAffairs.com

May 19, 2008

• Latest Gas Price Round-Up • '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 nationwide average price of regular gasoline continued to push toward $4 a gallon, setting a record price for the twelfth day in a row, according to the AAA Fuel Gauge Report.

The national average price for a gallon of regular unleaded is now $3.794. Gasoline prices have limbed almost 10 percent in the last month. One month ago regular sold for $3.474. One year ago a gallon sold for $3.178, almost 20 percent less than the current price.

Diesel is selling for $4.522, also a record.

Both mid-grade and premium gasoline are above the $4 a gallon. Mid-grade sells for a national average of $4.030 a gallon and premium sells for $4.175.

Average prices are above $4 a gallon in Alaska and Connecticut, with Illinois, New York, and California within several cents of the mark.

Two more major metropolitan areas, Chicago and Long Island, New York face $4 a gallon gasoline. Prices in Chicago have reached $4.07 and Long Island gas prices hit $4.01. They join San Francisco and 6 other California areas at record marks above $4.

Oil industry analyst Trilby Lundberg warned the worst is far from over. There is a "high possibility" that the national average gasoline price will reach $4 a gallon soon, she said.

"We are within 21 cents of $4 a gallon," Lundberg said. "There seems to be very good chance that we will reach it."

The cheapest gallon of regular gasoline is now found in Gillette, Wyoming for $3.42. The most expensive gasoline is sold at several locations in Hawaii for $4.55.

Report Your Experience
If you've had a bad experience -- or a good one -- with a consumer product or service, we'd like to hear about it. All complaints are reviewed by class action attorneys and are considered for publication on our site. Knowledge is power! Help spread the word. File your consumer report now.

Back to the top |