Gas Prices Continue To Drift Higher

Motorists continue to pay more than $3 for a gallon of gasoline as oil prices move toward the $100 a barrel mark.

The national average price of self-serve regular today is $3.095 a gallon, up just over a penny from last Friday, according to AAA's Fuel Gauge Survey. The average price of diesel fuel is $3.359 a gallon, two and a-half cents higher than last week.

U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu predicts the U.S. will face higher oil prices in the medium- to long-term because global demand for oil is rising, especially from China and India. He also says challenges in oil discovery and oil's finite nature limit supply.

While prices are rising mostly in anticipation of stronger economic growth in the future, present supply and demand realities are not helpful to consumers. In its weekly report, the Energy Information Administration showed a larger-than-expected drop in U.S. crude oil supplies, To make matters worse, U.S. refineries reportedly slightly lower production rates.

Consumption demands may be temporary

While various industry reports showed a slight decrease in gasoline demand in the last week of 2010, much of that decline is being attributed to a combination of the holidays and severe weather in the east that kept many motorists off the roads.

The states with the most expensive gasoline today are:

• Hawaii ($3.705)

• Alaska ($3.578)

• California ($3.360)

• New York ($3.339)

• Connecticut ($3.306)

• Washington ($3.234)

• Illinois ($3.225)

• Oregon ($3.204)

• Maine ($3.179)

• Vermont ($3.176)

The states with the least expensive gasoline today are:

• Wyoming ($2.827)

• Colorado ($2.896)

• Missouri ($2.903)

• Idaho ($2.931)

• South Carolina ($2.937)

• Oklahoma ($2.963)

• Texas ($2.948)

• Mississippi ($2.952)

• Tennessee ($2.960)

• Arkansas ($2.969)