Gas prices rise again; analyst explains why

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- U.S. gasoline prices climbed 3 more cents per gallon in the past two weeks because of high crude oil prices, tight capacity and rising demand, an analyst said Sunday.
The nationwide average for all gasoline grades, including taxes, was nearly $1.86 per gallon Friday, up 3.07 cents from April 9, according to the Lundberg Survey of 8,000 stations nationwide.
The average price "has broken all-time record highs for two months straight," analyst Trilby Lundberg said. However, when adjusted for inflation, she said, it remained about $1 a gallon lower than the peak of March 1981.
Since Dec. 19, the average gas price has risen 34.55 cents, she said.
The latest increase was prompted by crude oil prices topping $36 per barrel coupled with OPEC production cuts and a growth in crude oil demand, chiefly in the United States and China, Lundberg said.
Demand for gasoline also is growing, thanks to an improving economy, while refinery capacity is tight and new federal rules for formulating less-polluting gasoline add to the cost, she said.
Lundberg said it was impossible to know if prices will continue to increase, but "it seems more likely than not" as the peak summer travel season approaches.
The national weighted average price of gasoline, including taxes, at self-serve pumps Friday was about $1.83 for regular, $1.92 for midgrade and $2.01 for premium.
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