Gas prices near $3 a gallon

chart_gas_101222.top.gif By Charles Riley, staff reporter


NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Gas prices were poised Wednesday to top the milestone $3 mark for the first time since Oct. 17, 2008, as the national average compiled by motorist group AAA reached $2.997 a gallon.

Gas prices have risen more than 4% from $2.872 a month ago and are nearly 16% higher than the $2.585 average a year ago, according to the AAA figures.

Prices have been climbing steadily since bottoming out at $1.616 in December 2008.

"We've never had Christmas Day with gasoline at three dollars or higher," said Tom Kloza, chief oil analyst with Oil Price Information Service, an energy trade publication based in Wall, N.J.

The rise in gas prices mirrors a rise in crude oil, which passed the $90 a barrel mark on Wednesday. Oil prices haven't settled above $90 a barrel since October of 2008.

The spike in crude has been helped along by a weak dollar, and according to some critics, the Fed's quantitative easing program.

But higher gas prices aren't going to keep motorists off the road this holiday season, according to Troy Green, a national spokesman for AAA.

He said AAA is sticking with its projection that 85.7 million people will travel by car to their holiday destinations, a 3.2% increase over last year.

Prices in Hawaii and Alaska are the highest in the nation, with a gallon of gas costing $3.621 in Hawaii and $3.537 in Alaska.

But those states are outliers. Californians pay the most in the lower 48, shelling out $3.275. New York follows, with an average gallon costing $3.262.

Twenty-five states and the District of Columbia are already paying more than $3 a gallon.

But some states pay far less.

Residents of Colorado enjoy the lowest price at $2.749, followed by Wyoming at $2.793.

On its Web site, AAA says the information is gathered by Oil Price Information Service and based on up to 100,000 stations nationwide.

According to a separate report issued by the Oil Price Information Service, drivers are estimated to spend $305 on gasoline in December. To top of page

Just the hot list include
Frontline troops push for solar energy
The U.S. Marines are testing renewable energy technologies like solar to reduce costs and casualties associated with fossil fuels. Play
25 Best Places to find rich singles
Looking for Mr. or Ms. Moneybags? Hunt down the perfect mate in these wealthy cities, which are brimming with unattached professionals. More
Fun festivals: Twins to mustard to pirates!
You'll see double in Twinsburg, Ohio, and Ketchup lovers should beware in Middleton, WI. Here's some of the best and strangest town festivals. Play
Index Last Change % Change
Dow 32,627.97 -234.33 -0.71%
Nasdaq 13,215.24 99.07 0.76%
S&P 500 3,913.10 -2.36 -0.06%
Treasuries 1.73 0.00 0.12%
Data as of 6:29am ET
Company Price Change % Change
Ford Motor Co 8.29 0.05 0.61%
Advanced Micro Devic... 54.59 0.70 1.30%
Cisco Systems Inc 47.49 -2.44 -4.89%
General Electric Co 13.00 -0.16 -1.22%
Kraft Heinz Co 27.84 -2.20 -7.32%
Data as of 2:44pm ET
Sponsors

Sections

Bankrupt toy retailer tells bankruptcy court it is looking at possibly reviving the Toys 'R' Us and Babies 'R' Us brands. More

Land O'Lakes CEO Beth Ford charts her career path, from her first job to becoming the first openly gay CEO at a Fortune 500 company in an interview with CNN's Boss Files. More

Most stock quote data provided by BATS. Market indices are shown in real time, except for the DJIA, which is delayed by two minutes. All times are ET. Disclaimer. Morningstar: © 2018 Morningstar, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Factset: FactSet Research Systems Inc. 2018. All rights reserved. Chicago Mercantile Association: Certain market data is the property of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. and its licensors. All rights reserved. Dow Jones: The Dow Jones branded indices are proprietary to and are calculated, distributed and marketed by DJI Opco, a subsidiary of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC and have been licensed for use to S&P Opco, LLC and CNN. Standard & Poor's and S&P are registered trademarks of Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLC and Dow Jones is a registered trademark of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC. All content of the Dow Jones branded indices © S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC 2018 and/or its affiliates.