U.S. Gas Gets Even Pricier Than California’s

The average U.S. price for retail self-serve regular gasoline jumped a nickel to $1.681 per gallon, the Energy Information Administration said, based on its weekly survey of 800 gasoline stations. California motorists are paying an average of $1.618 per gallon for self-serve regular, up four-tenths of a cent from the week before. California’s average gas price has been lower than the U.S. average for two weeks. The last time that happened was in 1997. Price spikes in the Midwest, where drivers are paying more than $2 a gallon for the reformulated gasoline required beginning June 1 to meet federal clean-air standards, as well as in the Northeast helped push the U.S. average to record levels.