The average price for a gallon of gasoline in the United States increased for the first time since mid-October, rising by 12 cents to about $3.36 over the last three weeks due to higher crude oil prices, an industry analyst said on Sunday.

"The higher crude prices pulled up wholesale prices by about 19 cents a gallon, but retailers have passed through only 12 cents of that so far," said Trilby Lundberg, editor of the Lundberg Survey.

If crude prices remain at current levels or rise, retailers will be forced to attempt margin recovery through further increases in the near future, she said.

According to the survey, based on some 2,500 gasoline stations nationwide, the average price for regular gas was $3.3596 cents a gallon, up by 27.8 cents from a year ago.

Among cities covered, the lowest average was in Salt Lake City, Utah, where the price was $2.86 gallon; the highest city on average was Los Angeles at $3.69 a gallon.