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ATLANTA (CNN) -
Gasoline prices are back on the rise, reversing a two-month decline, according to a survey released Sunday.
The average of price of a gallon of self-serve regular jumped eight cents to $2.21 a gallon -- just 7 cents below the all-time high that was set on April 8, the Lundberg Survey found.
Publisher Trilby Lundberg said the biggest reason was the rising price of crude oil, which set an all-time high on Friday -- the same day gasoline prices were surveyed at about 7,000 stations nationwide.
Light sweet crude oil for August delivery closed at $59.84 a barrel Friday on the New York Mercantile Exchange -- the highest price for a nearby futures contract in the 22 years oil has been traded at the exchange.
Lundberg said the rise in oil prices could mean further price jumps at the pump. Crude oil prices have spiked the past two weeks, but gasoline has risen only about half as much, percentage-wise. But gasoline prices could catch up, Lundberg said.
She said world oil demand is behind the rise in oil prices. Supply is plentiful. Even with the rising prices, U.S. demand for gasoline has surged.
"Economic growth has allowed us to absorb these higher prices," Lundberg said.
Among cities surveyed, the lowest average price was in Charleston, S.C., where drivers paid $2.04 for a gallon of self-serve regular. The highest average was $2.46 in Honolulu.
The average price of a gallon of self-serve regular gasoline in other cities and regions:
- Denver, $2.10
- Dallas, $2.12
- Atlanta, $2.14
- St. Louis, $2.20
- Boston, $2.24
- Seattle, $2.28
- Los Angeles, $2.38
- Long Island, New York $2.35
For a look at how record oil prices may affect you, click here.
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