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| The middle class is struggling to keep up with rising gas prices. CNN's Christine Romans reports (August 16) |
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| Airline carriers, utility companies and even pizza deliveries are imposing additional charges to consumers. (August 17) |
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NEW YORK (CNN/Money) -
Prices at the pump struck their fifth consecutive high Wednesday, according to travel club AAA's daily fuel gauge report.
The nationwide average price of a gallon of regular unleaded hit $2.564, up 4 cents from the previous day, according to AAA, the largest U.S. motorist organization formerly known as the American Automobile Association. In the last year, prices have gained 70 cents, or almost 38 percent.
Prices have moved steadily higher since early in July, but economists are worrying that higher fuel prices are taking their toll on consumers.
The retail sector posted a massive selloff Tuesday after Wal-Mart, the world's No. 1 retailer, said quarterly revenue slid because its customers were being squeezed by gas prices. (Full story.)
And the consumer price index showed that inflation jumped more than expected in July due to higher fuel costs. (Full story.)
The average price for a gallon of regular unleaded is highest in California at $2.773 and lowest in Wyoming at $2.401.
Retail diesel, meanwhile, is at $2.618, a gain of about 76 cents from last year's price.
Over the weekend, another national survey said that gas prices broke $2.50 for a gallon of self-serve regular, surging 20 cents during the past three weeks. The results from the Lundberg Survey are based on prices at 7,000 gas stations in every state.
Though both the AAA and Lundberg Survey reported record highs for gasoline, prices remain below their all-time highs when inflation is taken into account. According to Lundberg, gas prices were the equivalent of $3 a gallon during the Iranian revolution in the early 1980's.
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Oil prices have to eventually hit their tipping point. For more, click here.
Click here for more from the Lundberg Survey.
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