Gas Climbs Above $3

July 24, 2006 — -- The Department of Energy said today that the national average price for a gallon of regular unleaded is now just above $3 -- 1.4 cents higher than the price a week ago. Continued high crude oil prices have driven the increase.

The only time the average price went higher was immediately after Hurricane Katrina knocked out a third of the nation's refining capacity last year. At that point, the price of the average gallon of gas was $3.07.

If you compare the price to the same time a year ago ($2.29), you'll see that consumers are paying 31 percent more today to fill up.

The West Coast was the only region of the country to see prices drop, but only slightly. It's still the most expensive region for gasoline in the country.

The government's report comes on the heels of another survey released Sunday that reported gas prices rose nearly 2 cents to just above $3 a gallon

The Lundberg Survey of 7,000 gas stations across the country reported the national average for self-serve regular stood at $3.0150 a gallon Friday, up 1.98 cents in the last two weeks

The survey determined a gallon of midgrade gasoline averaged around $3.12, and premium at nearly $3.22.