Gas, Gas Prices | featured news

Even as President Barack Obama considers using U.S. oil stockpiles to halt rising gasoline costs in an election year, a Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Tuesday shows economic pain at the pump is not a big concern for voters.

Gas prices jumped 18 cents over the past two weeks, the biggest jump of the year, according to a survey published Sunday. The average cost of a gallon of regular is $3.69 nationwide, the Lundberg Survey found. That's nearly 8 cents higher than a year ago, but still 28 cents lower than it was in April of this year.

A surprise surge in gasoline prices is taking some of the fun out of summer. The national average for a gallon of gas at the pump has climbed to $3.67, a rise of 34 cents since July 1. An increase in crude oil prices and problems with refineries and pipelines in the West Coast and Midwest, including a fire in California, are mostly to blame.

The phenomenon is called rockets and feathers, and, industry analysts say, it's been going on for a long time. Gasoline retail prices rise four times faster than they fall after the wholesale price changes, according to a 2010 Federal Trade Commission (FTC) study.

After dipping to $3.33 a gallon, the nation's average gas price climbed 17 cents over 26 consecutive days in July.

Consumers have caught a break from the slowing economy as gasoline prices extended their steep three-month decline, but the cost of filling the tank may soon head back up, a widely followed survey said on Sunday.

Average retail gasoline prices continue to fall in California, but the national average for a gallon of regular fuel rose for the first time in several weeks, according to the AAA Fuel Gauge Report.

The average price of a gallon of gasoline in the U.S. has dropped 15 cents over the past two weeks.

More Americans will hit the road this holiday weekend than a year ago. And they'll have a bit more money to spend thanks to lower gas prices....

What only weeks ago was seen as a serious threat to the economic recovery could now turn into a stimulus everyone can love. Oil and gasoline prices are sinking, giving relief to businesses and consumers who a few weeks ago seemed about to face the highest fuel prices ever.