Fuel Prices Jump 9 Cents

The biggest weekly rise, 11.4 cents, is on the Gulf Coast, a survey shows. Increases reflect supply worries, an analyst says.

LOS ANGELES – U.S. retail gasoline prices jumped 9 cents to an average of $2.588 a gallon, a federal survey showed Monday, as uncertainty continued over the availability of summer supplies.

California’s average pump price rose 7.4 cents to $2.743 for a gallon of self-serve regular gasoline, according to the U.S. Energy Department’s weekly service station survey.

The biggest increase came along the Gulf Coast, where the average price surged 11.4 cents to $2.571 a gallon. That region is in the midst of a huge refinery maintenance effort that was delayed by hurricane damage in 2005.

Gas prices began rising in mid-February and have added nearly 35 cents a gallon to the U.S. average and about 30 cents to the California average since then.

Fuel prices often increase in the first quarter as traders worry about summer supplies and refiners make their annual switch to summer gasoline formulas designed to control emissions in higher temperatures, said Tom Kloza, chief oil analyst for Oil Price Information Service, a price-tracking company.

LA Times