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Gas prices up a dime in 2 weeks

06/22/2008

Lundberg survey puts national average at $4.10. Drivers are feeling the burden - paying more than twice what they paid a year ago.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- The average price of gasoline rose nearly 10 cents over the past two weeks, according to a survey released Sunday.

The survey showed that the average price was a fraction of a cent under $4.10 a gallon, said survey publisher Trilby Lundberg.

That was up 9.7 cents a gallon from when the survey was conducted two weeks ago, Lundberg said. The survey tallies prices at thousands of gas stations across the country.

Meanwhile, a daily survey released Sunday by motorist group AAA showed that prices at up to 100,000 service stations had held steady at $4.07 from the day before.

The AAA survey recorded an all-time high of $4.08 on Monday, June 16.

The cost of gasoline remains a heavy burden for drivers: The national average is more than a dollar higher than it was a year ago.

According to AAA, drivers in 30 states and the District of Columbia are paying an average of at least $4 a gallon. The most expensive gas is in California, with an average per-gallon price of $4.60.

The state with the lowest gas prices is Oklahoma, where a gallon averages $3.82.

The survey also showed the national average price of diesel fell to $4.77 a gallon from $4.78 the day before.

Oil: Supply and demand

The escalating price of oil prompted Saudi Arabia, the world's largest oil producer, to convene a special meeting on Sunday to seek solutions. The Saudis are said to be worried that the high prices will dampen demand for crude.

Saudi King Abdullah said at the end of the summit that the country will in July increase its daily oil production to 9.7 million barrels. Further, the Saudi oil minister, Ali I. Al-Naimi, said the Saudi government will invest in oil projects that would allow Saudi Arabia to have the capacity to produce 12.5 million barrels per day by the end of next year.

On Friday, oil prices rose nearly $5 during trading before settling higher by less than $3 at $134.62.

Prices idle drivers

Meanwhile, high gas prices have prompted many Americans to cut back on the amount of driving they do.

The Federal Highway Administration said Thursday it estimates that Americans drove 1.4 billion fewer miles on public roads in April. That's a decline of 1.8% compared to April 2007 and is the sixth consecutive month that drivers have cut back.

So far this year, the agency estimates that drivers have traveled 20 billion fewer miles than in previous years.

CNN Monye and CNN Wires, http://money.cnn.com/2008/06/22/news/economy/gas/?postversion=2008062209