By Joe Benton
ConsumerAffairs.com
June 9, 2008
The average price of a gallon of regular gasoline is now $4.023 throughout the country with regular selling well above that in many areas.
The price blew through the $4 mark over the weekend and climbed again as the June 9 workweek began. Mid-grade gasoline sells for $4.273 a gallon and premium sells for $4.426.
Diesel is selling for $4.773
"If crude oil prices stay at nearly $139 a barrel, a 30-cent rise for a gallon of gas over the next few weeks is possible," said Trilby Lundberg, editor of the nationwide Lundberg survey of about 7,000 gas stations.
One month ago a gallon of regular gasoline sold for an average price of $3.692 and one year ago a gallon sold for $3.091 on average.
Average prices are the highest in California at $4.445 a gallon. People in Missouri and South Carolina see the lowest average price at $3.825 and $3.829.
Soaring gas prices are crippling consumers and damaging businesses in an economy already facing higher food prices, job losses and plummeting home values.
Drivers in Woodbridge Hills, California, are paying the most for gas at $4.78 a gallon. Folks in Granite Falls, North Carolina can find the cheapest gallon at $3.62.
Prices at the pump vary across U.S. regions, with consumers paying an average $3.84 in the Gulf Coast area and $4.27 a gallon along the West Coast.
"We can expect some further increase at the pump," Lundberg warned. The Lundberg warning was echoed in a statement issued by the travel group AAA.
