Gas price break may not last

After 2-week advance, daily average is down for 4th straight day. But another run at the record looms – surveys.

ATLANTA (CNN) — After a two-week climb in gasoline prices, there appeared to be some short-term moderation Monday – but another run at the record high set last week seems likely, two surveys indicated.

The average price of gasoline jumped 15 cents over the past two weeks to a national average of $3.62 per gallon of self-serve regular, according to the biweekly Lundberg Survey released Sunday. The rise continued at virtually the same rate as the previous two weeks, when the average price went up 16 cents per gallon.


Separately, AAA reported Monday that the national average price for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline fell for the fourth straight day, down 3/10 of a cent to $3.611. The price is 1.2 cents below the $3.623-a-gallon record set last Thursday, which marked the 17th day in a row of new highs.

The AAA survey is updated daily, and tracks prices at roughly 80,000 service stations across the country. It is conducted for the group by Oil Price Information Service.

Crude oil. While crude oil prices were “a little tamer” in the past two weeks, the majority of the 15-cent rise “went to some margin of recovery for retailers,” said Lundberg Survey publisher Trilby Lundberg. Many retailers had seen their take on each gallon shrivel amid skyrocketing oil prices.

Even if crude oil prices slip in the coming days, “I think we can expect another 10 or 15 cents this month, if not more,” Lundberg said.

CNN