U.S. retail gasoline price nears record: government

By Tom Doggett

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. retail gasoline prices rose closer to record levels last week, up 3.2 cents from the previous week due to higher crude oil costs, the government said on Monday.

The national price for regular unleaded gasoline averaged $3.16, up 66 cents from a year ago and about a nickel away from the record $3.22 reached last May, the Energy Information Administration said in its weekly survey of service stations.

Separately, the price truckers paid for diesel fuel set a record for the second week in a row, jumping 10.6 cents to $3.66 a gallon, up $1.03 from a year ago, the EIA said.

Higher crude oil prices, which hit a record of almost $104 a barrel on Monday at the New York Mercantile Exchange, have driven motor fuel costs higher despite declining fuel demand and the highest U.S. gasoline inventories in 14 years.

The price of crude accounts for about two-thirds of the cost for making gasoline.

The EIA said its next monthly energy forecast on March 11 will revise up its prior estimate that gasoline will peak at $3.40 a gallon this spring.

In the EIA's latest weekly survey, gasoline was the most expensive on the West Coast at $3.39 a gallon, up 12.1 cents. San Francisco had the highest city price at $3.53, up 9.5 cents.

The Midwest states had the cheapest regional price at $3.08 a gallon, unchanged from last week. Denver had the most affordable city gasoline at $3.03 a gallon, up 1.8 cents.

The EIA also reported gasoline prices were up 15.6 cents at $3.43 in Los Angeles, 12.5 cents at $3.41 in Seattle, up half a penny at $3.30 in Miami, down 1.2 cents at $3.16 in Chicago, up 1.9 cents at $3.13 in New York City, up 0.9 cent at $3.05 in Boston and up 1.8 cents at $3.04 in Houston.

The central Atlantic states had the most expensive diesel fuel at $3.83 a gallon, up 13.2 cents. The Rocky Mountain states had the most affordable diesel at $3.57, up 10 cents.

(Reporting by Tom Doggett; Editing by David Gregorio)