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US gasoline price up again, pump cost 3rd-highest

Posted on: Monday, 15 May 2006, 16:05 CDT

By Tom Doggett

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The much-awaited drop in U.S. retail gasoline prices lasted all of seven days, as the national pump price jumped 3.8 cents over the last week to $2.95 a gallon, the government said on Monday.

Motor fuel is up 78 cents from a year ago and now is the third-highest price ever, based on the federal Energy Information Administration's weekly survey of service stations.

U.S. motorists had finally got a break at the pump during the previous week when the average gasoline price fell for the first time in six weeks, even though it was by only a penny.

The EIA said at the time that gasoline prices were peaking as the vast majority of the recent jump in wholesale fuel costs had been passed on to consumers at the pump.

The new rise at the pump mirrors an increase last week in crude oil prices, which account for about half the cost of making gasoline.

Gasoline prices also normally increase heading toward the Memorial Day holiday weekend at the end of May, the traditional start of the U.S. summer vacation season.

The EIA last week revised up its forecast for this summer's average retail gasoline price to $2.71 a gallon, 7 cents higher than its earlier estimate and 34 cents more than last summer, suggesting fuel costs will soon start falling again to reach the lower average pump price.

The savings at the pump could quickly return. The price of U.S. crude for delivery in June settled down $2.63 to $69.41 a barrel on Monday at the New York Mercantile Exchange, as traders feared high energy prices could slow economic growth and thus cut into petroleum demand.

In the EIA's latest weekly survey, the West Coast had the most expensive regional gasoline, with the price up a penny to $3.25 a gallon. Los Angeles topped the survey of cities, with gasoline down 2.4 cents at $3.40 a gallon.

The Gulf Coast states had the cheapest gasoline at $2.83 a gallon, up 1.8 cents. Among major cities, Denver had the best pump price at $2.81, down 0.1 cent.

Separately, the average diesel fuel price paid by truckers increased 2.3 cents over the last week to $2.92 a gallon, the fifth-highest price ever and up 73 cents from a year earlier, the EIA said.

Truckers on the West Coast paid the most for diesel at $3.19 a gallon, up 1.2 cents. The Gulf Coast region had the cheapest diesel at $2.83 a gallon, up 1.5 cents.

Source: REUTERS

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