NEW YORK — The price of gasoline rose for the 21st straight day Tuesday. Drivers are paying an average of $3.72 a gallon nationwide, about 24 cents more than before the streak began.
The winter surge is being driven primarily by the rising price of oil, which has been above $100 a barrel since Feb. 10 as tensions mount between the West and Iran over its nuclear ambitions.
Gas prices are highest in Alaska, California, New York, Connecticut and Hawaii, which is tops at $4.32 a gallon. Nationwide, gasoline prices are 10 percent higher than a year ago — and at their highest level ever for the end of February.
Pump prices in Denver averaged $3.112 Tuesday, up 1.8 cents from Monday and 8 cents from a week ago, according AAA, the Oil Price Information Service and Wright Express.
A steep rise in gas prices early last year caused consumers to sharply cut back on spending and brought economic growth almost to a standstill. But this year’s increase hasn’t caused a repeat, economists say. With hiring accelerating and incomes higher, consumers are better able to afford to pay more for gas.
Prices for other goods, such as food, are holding relatively steady after surging in 2011. Natural-gas costs have plummeted recently, reducing consumers’ heating bills. Those trends should offset some of the squeeze on consumers from pricier gas.
The rising price of oil isn’t the only factor driving pump prices higher. Every year, refineries must temporarily idle their facilities to prepare them for the production of cleaner-burning gasoline that’s required in summer. This briefly constrains gasoline supplies and puts upward pressure on prices.
Analysts say the national average could peak in late April as high as $4.25 per gallon.
The price of gas has risen 30 cents in a month. That 30-cent jump, if sustained over a year, would cost the economy about $41 billion.
The Energy Information Agency, a branch of the Energy Department, in early February estimated that gasoline would average $3.55 a gallon this year, 2 cents higher than last year. The EIA also forecast that West Texas Intermediate, used to price oil produced in the U.S., would average $100.40 a barrel, compared with $94.86 a barrel in 2011.
West Texas Intermediate has risen 8 percent to around $107 a barrel so far this year. On Tuesday, WTI dropped $2.01, or nearly 2 percent, to $106.55 a barrel.
Petroleum demand in the U.S., the world’s largest oil consumer, has fallen 5.5 percent so far this year, compared with a year ago.
A weekly survey by MasterCard SpendingPulse shows that Americans have cut back on gasoline spending for 49 straight weeks.
Last week, the Federal Highway Administration said motorists drove 1.2 percent less in 2011.
