US gasoline price at record high $2.017 a gallon

The national price for gasoline busted through the $2 a gallon threshold for the first time ever, jumping 7.6 cents over the last week to a record high of $2.017 a gallon on Monday, the U.S. government said.

WASHINGTON, May 17 (Reuters) – The national price for gasoline busted through the $2 a gallon threshold for the first time ever, jumping 7.6 cents over the last week to a record high of $2.017 a gallon on Monday, the U.S. government said.

The latest pump price for regular unleaded gasoline is up 52 cents from a year ago, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s weekly survey of service stations.

Fuel prices are rising because of strong demand for gasoline and high crude oil prices, which account for almost half the cost of gasoline.

When adjusted for inflation in 2004 dollars, the highest U.S. gasoline price was $2.99 a gallon in March 1981, according to the EIA.

http://www.forbes.com/home/newswire/2004/05/17/rtr1374457.html