Average gas price hits $2.06 a gallon

updated 5:43 p.m. ET March 14, 2005

WASHINGTON - The retail price of gasoline rose 6 cents last week to average $2.06 per gallon nationwide, the Energy Department reported Monday.

That’s the highest average price since the peak last May. The jump in retail gasoline prices coincides with a recent rally in gasoline futures and as crude oil futures hover near $55 a barrel.

The government survey said the average price nationwide of regular-grade unleaded gasoline rose 5.7 cents last week to $2.056 per gallon. Prices are 33.2 cents higher than a year ago and less than a penny shy of the average for the week ended May 24 — $2.064 per gallon.

Pump prices are highest on the West Coast, averaging $2.228 per gallon, and cheapest on the Gulf Coast, averaging $1.968 per gallon. In the Midwest, gas averages $2.054 per gallon.

One of the key factors that drove the price of gasoline higher was the rising cost of oil — the result of strong demand, tight global supplies, geopolitical uncertainties and the falling value of the dollar.

The price of light crude for March delivery rose 52 cents to $54.95 a barrel Monday on the New York Mercantile Exchange. In other Nymex trading, November gasoline futures fell by a cent to $1.5065 per gallon.

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