Sky-High Gas Hits New Record

March 31, 2008— -- WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. retail price for gasoline set a new high of $3.29 a gallon after rising 3.1 cents over the last week, the federal Energy Information Administration said Monday.

The national price for regular, self-service gasoline is up 58 cents from a year ago as expensive crude oil continued to be passed on to consumers at the pump.

In the EIA's latest weekly survey, gasoline was the most expensive on the West Coast at $3.52 a gallon, up 0.6 cent. San Francisco had the highest city price at $3.65, down a penny.

The Gulf Coast states had the cheapest regional price at $3.21 a gallon, up 4 cents. Boston had the lowest city price, up 0.7 cent to $3.11.

Separately, the price of diesel fuel dropped for the first time in nine weeks, falling 2.5 cents to $3.96 a gallon, but still up $1.17 from a year ago.

The EIA's survey showed the central Atlantic states had the most expensive diesel fuel at $4.16 a gallon, down 2.6 cents. The Gulf Coast region had the cheapest diesel at $3.91, down 2.1 cents.