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Gas Prices Gush Up

Five states now above $4 a gallon

By Joe Benton
ConsumerAffairs.com

May 22, 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 ...

California and Illinois have joined the list of states with average gasoline prices above $4 a gallon. Regular self-serve now sells for $4.005 in both states, according to the AAA Fuel Gauge Report.

Alaska, Connecticut and New York complete the list of states suffering from gasoline prices above $4. Regular sells for $4.133 in Alaska, $4.083 in Connecticut and $4.019 in New York.

The nationwide average for a gallon of regular unleaded jumped 2.4 cents overnight as the country drives off into the long Memorial Day weekend.

The average price for regular in the U.S. is $3.831, an increase of 20 percent since the Memorial Day holiday last year. Mid-grade sells for $4.068 and premium costs $4.214. All are record prices.

Diesel sells for $4.59, also a record according to AAA.

One month ago regular gasoline sold for an average price of $3.511 and one year ago a gallon sold for $3.22.

Retail gasoline prices have now increased for 16 consecutive days setting 15 straight record prices.

The run-up in gasoline prices is fueled by record crude oil prices, which have more than doubled over the last year, gushing above $135 a barrel in speculative trading this week.

The cheapest gallon of gasoline in the country is found in Rio Rico, Arizona for $3.49. Across Arizona gasoline prices average $3.649 a gallon, the lowest statewide average in the U.S.

The hurricane season begins June 1 and the storms could bring even higher gasoline prices with them. That is what happened three years ago when the Gulf Coast was battered by hurricanes Katrina and Rita in the span of a few weeks.

The gas spike caused by those two hurricanes occurred late in the summer of 2005, when Katrina and Rita brought the country $3 a gallon regular gas.

Here is a look at some gasoline prices from around the country in the ConsumerAffairs.Com Memorial Day Gas Price Round Up.

California: Santa Barbara has the highest average gasoline price in the state at $4.109 followed closely by San Francisco at $4.066.

Regular gasoline sells for an average price of $3.959 in the Los Angeles area.

Florida: Regular self-serve gasoline sells for an average of $3.852 a gallon throughout the Sunshine State.

Prices in Miami average $3.931. Daytona Beach regular sells for $3.879 and a gallon costs $3.768 in Orlando.

Texas: El Paso enjoys the lowest average gasoline prices in the Lone Star State at $3.673. Regular sells for $3.70o in Houston and $3.74 in Dallas.

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