Gasoline may pass $2.25 a gallon

Oil prices rallied to a record close above $57 a barrel Friday, sparked by a surge in gasoline futures that could send the average retail cost of gasoline above $2.25 a gallon within a few weeks.

Analysts said the nearly $2-a-barrel run-up in oil prices suggested there is new money coming into the market from hedge funds and other speculators, as well as from commercial players, such as airlines and fuel distributors, that are trying to lock in prices now out of fear that the upward trend may continue.