Gasoline Prices Hit New Highs In U.S.

Rising crude oil prices fueled new records at the pump, toppling old highs in the United States, according to an article in the San Jose Mercury News on May 7. In Oakland, Calif., the price of a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline hit $2.21 — an all-time high, according to the California State Automobile Association (CSAA). In San Francisco, the average price for the same product tied the record at $2.29. San Jose's average price of $2.16 leaves the city a penny under the old record. Meanwhile, the U.S. average also hit a new high, moving up more a penny overnight to more than $1.87 a gallon, the American Automobile Association (AAA) said. A year ago, the U.S. average for the same gallon of gasoline was just a shade over $1.50. A month ago, the price stood at $1.77-plus. When adjusted for inflation, however, today's gas prices still have a ways to go before beating the record set in 1981. The price of a gallon of regular gas at that time was the equivalent of $2.43 in today's money. The latest price spike at the pump is mostly the result of surging wholesale oil prices, said Jenny Mack, a spokeswoman with the CSAA to the San Jose Mercury News. Forecasters, she said, are expecting another big jump in demand for gas this summer despite the rising prices.