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 Retail gasoline prices were up a penny on Friday to a national
average of $3.831 per gallon, according to AAA, Wright Express and
Oil Price Information Service.
The average price for a gallon of regular is now above $4 in Alaska,
California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois and New York.
Gasoline has jumped by almost 56 cents per gallon since Jan. 1 and
is the highest ever for this time of year. That's costing drivers an
extra $11.20 to fill up a 20-gallon tank. Experts are forecasting
that the nationwide average could reach $4.25 by the end of April.
For now, consumers aren't seeing similar increases in other areas.
The Labor Department said Friday that excluding energy prices,
inflation stayed mild in February. Food prices were unchanged for
the first time in 19 months.
Yet there are signs that high gas prices are weighing on consumer
confidence and the growth that fuels job creation. Economists fear
consumers could cut spending on other goods, from appliances to
furniture to electronics and vacations.
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Gas prices are rising primarily because of high oil prices. On
Friday oil markets were still reacting to reports a day earlier that
the U.S. and the U.K. planned to release some of their strategic
crude reserves. Although the White House denied the reports,
independent analyst Andrew Lipow said traders were left to worry
that Western nations are preparing for a prolonged standoff with
Iran over its nuclear program.
"What do they know that they're not telling?" Lipow said.
Tensions with Iran, and the threat to oil supplies in the Middle
East, are a big reason that oil has risen about 7 percent since Jan.
1 and almost 15 percent since October.
[Associated
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