Energy, Gas Prices | featured news

California’s average gasoline price set a record Saturday of $4.614 for a gallon of regular, up 12.8 cents overnight – but anyone who filled up in the last few days probably isn’t surprised. 

California's average gasoline prices rose 13 cents to $4.26 in the second quarter of 2012, a 3.1 percent increase compared to last year's second quarter average price of $4.13 according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). Even as oil prices drop to some of its lowest levels at $88 per barrel.

U.S. gasoline prices at the pump are poised to drop by year end, if history is any guide, as refineries resume production, Europe exports more fuel to the East Coast and Americans drive less. Prices at service stations may fall about 6.3 percent to $3.54 a gallon, according to eight years of seasonal data compiled by Bloomberg. Gasoline deliveries to the U.S. from Europe may rise 35 percent, according to the median of eight estimates in a Bloomberg News survey. Demand has declined an average of 3.6 percent from July through December during the past five years, Energy Department data show.

The average U.S. price of a gallon of gasoline dipped by less than one penny - about a third of a cent - over the past two weeks....

Gas prices have jumped again nationwide, according to a survey published Sunday. he average price for a gallon of regular is now $3.76 -- up nearly seven cents from two weeks ago, the Lundberg Survey found.

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.