Gasoline tops $4 a gallon in two U.S. metro areas
NEW YORK - Oil futures crept higher Monday while retail gas and diesel
prices reached new records, adding to the pressure on drivers planning
road trips for the coming holiday weekend.
Americans are now paying an average of $3.79 for a gallon of regular
gas, according to a survey by AAA and the Oil Price Information Service.
Diesel now costs $4.52 a gallon.
Drivers in some parts of the country are paying considerably more,
however. Gas pump prices in parts of California, where the average is
down to $3.96, have been stuck above $4 a gallon for weeks now. Prices
in Alaska and Connecticut are averaging just above $4 a gallon statewide.
A re****t released Sunday showed pump prices topped an average $4 a
gallon for the first time in two metropolitan areas: Chicago and New
York’s Long Island. The Lundberg Survey of 7,000 stations nationwide
found the cheapest city to be Tucson, Ariz., where a gallon of regular
sold for $3.48 on average.
Pump prices may have further to go still, pressured by rising oil costs
and a refinery shutdown.
Light, sweet crude for June delivery rose 33 cents to $126.62 a barrel
on the New York Mercantile Exchange on Monday. Prices surged to a
trading record near $128 a barrel Friday, but did not set a new closing
high.
Read more: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12400801/
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