In the news:
Originally published Tuesday, February 14, 2012 at 6:39 PM
Gasoline prices have never hit $3.50 a gallon this early in the year
Even in 2008, the year that average gasoline prices hit records above $4 nationally, the U.S. average didn't climb above $3.50 until April 21.
Los Angeles Times
LOS ANGELES — U.S. motorists have seen the national average for regular gasoline rise above $3.50 a gallon in just three different years, but it has never happened this early.
The national average hit $3.523 a gallon, the U.S. Energy Department said Monday, up 4.1 cents from a week earlier.
Even in 2008, the year that average gasoline prices hit records above $4 nationally, the U.S. average didn't climb above $3.50 until April 21, according to the Energy Department's weekly survey of service stations. The $3.50 mark also was hit last year, but not until March 6.
"There's a chance that the U.S. average tops $4 a gallon by June, with some parts of the country approaching $5 a gallon," said Brian Milne, refined-fuels editor for Telvent DTN, a commodity information services firm.
In the Seattle-Everett-Bellevue region AAA's Daily Fuel Gauge Report lists regular gas currently at $3.602 a gallon, up from $3.578 a week ago. It was $3.314 a year ago.
