Gas jumps nearly 18 cents in 2 weeks
The average price of a gallon of self-serve regular was $2.655 as of October 23, Lundberg survey reports.
(CNN) -- Gasoline prices jumped nearly 18 cents over the past two weeks, the first two-week rise since early August, according to a survey published Sunday.
The average price of a gallon of self-serve regular was $2.655 as of October 23, said Trilby Lundberg, author of the Lundberg Survey. Since the October 9 survey, the average price per gallon has climbed by 17.82 cents. The current price is 12.3 cents less than the price a year ago.
The retail price of diesel fuel jumped a similar amount in the past two weeks -- 16.75 cents. The price of diesel fuel is $2.817, Lundberg said.
There has been no significant increase in the demand for crude oil, nor large decrease in supplies of crude that can explain almost a $9 per barrel jump in the past two weeks, according to Lundberg. Crude oil now costs $80.50 a barrel.
However, future perceptions may have an impact.
Traders buying futures contracts on the New York Mercantile Exchange anticipate that the price of crude oil will keep rising every year. For instance, they are betting that the price of crude will climb to $98 per barrel by 2017, an increase of about $18, Lundberg said.
Prices in earlier years also are high -- the expected price in 2011 is $87.67. "The oil futures market looking out into the future is seeing higher prices, not lower prices," she said.
It also is possible that traders fear dollar weakness in future years, Lundberg said. Both of these factors may be contributing to today's prices, she added.
Among U.S. regions, the West has the most expensive gasoline at an average of $2.86 per gallon. That compares to $2.67 in the Midwest; $2.62 on the East Coast; $2.52 for the Gulf Coast; and $2.51 in the Rockies.
The city with the highest average price in the most recent survey was Anchorage, Alaska, at $3.25 per gallon. The cheapest gas was in Tucson, Arizona, at $2.24.
Prices in some other cities were:
San Francisco, California, $3.06
Seattle, Washington, $2.77
Burlington, Vermont $2.72
Indianapolis, Indiana, $2.68
Fargo, North Dakota $2.61
Atlanta, Georgia $2.55
Baton Rouge, Louisiana $2.48
Tulsa, Oklahoma $2.45 
