US gasoline crosses $4 for the first time

Los Angeles: The US average price for a gallon of regular gasoline topped $4 for the first time, a survey issued on Sunday by the travel group AAA showed.

AAA's survey showed a national average price of $4.005 per gallon, up from $3.67 a month ago and $3.10 a year ago.

Average national gasoline prices had stabilised last week before Thursday and Friday's spike of US crude oil futures by $16 to a record above $139 a barrel. Friday's one-day gain of $10.75 for crude oil was the biggest daily gain in history, and Thursday's gain was the second biggest.

A year ago, US crude was trading at $66 per barrel. Since then, a weakening dollar and the chances of violence in oil-producing nations such as Iran have pushed oil prices higher.

The record crude and gasoline prices have taken a bite out of US motor fuel demand and cut sales of gas-guzzling pickup trucks and sport utility vehicles in favour of smaller cars that use less fuel per mile, said Geoff Sundstrom, AAA's fuel price analyst.