Gasoline prices rise slightly across much of the U.S.

The average price of a gallon of regular gasoline rose slightly across most of the nation over the last week, according to the AAA Fuel Gauge Report. In California, the average climbed 1.8 cents to $3.798 a gallon. The U.S. average rose 1.5 cents to $3.486 a gallon.

Analysts attributed the rise to the recovery in U.S. oil prices. Crude futures are again hovering around the $90 a barrel level after falling to the lowest price of the year of $77.69 a barrel during the final week of June. So far Monday, U.S. oil is down 38 cents a barrel to $89.75 in trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

The rise in oil prices has sent gasoline futures higher in trading as well, leading analysts to suggest that there are more increases coming at the pump.

“While motorists in many regions saw gasoline prices stabilize over the last week, it’s only a matter of time before last week’s rise in wholesale prices translates to a continued march higher on the retail level,” said GasBuddy.com senior petroleum analyst Patrick DeHaan. “The late week rally in stocks seemed to also fuel commodities higher, leading me to believe that pump prices will again pick up over the next week.”

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