Oil, Gas Prices | featured news

With high gas prices and federal deficits in the political spotlight, senior Democrats believe that Senate Republicans will support an idea they otherwise might not like.

The average gas price in the United States has hit the $4 mark, just 11 cents shy of the all-time high, according to a survey published Sunday.

Oil prices plummeted by almost 9 percent on Thursday as traders worried that American drivers were beginning to balk at the price of gasoline.

So now President Barack Obama has decided to go after the oil speculators. He wants to “root out any cases of fraud or manipulation.” He’s directed the Justice Department to set up a task force. Yessir, he’s determined to get to the bottom of this.

Chevron says first-quarter earnings rose 36 percent. The company received higher prices for the oil it produced, and also made more money from refining oil.

Exxon Mobil and Royal Dutch Shell Plc reported big jumps in first quarter earnings and beat forecasts, thanks to high oil prices and healthy refining margins.

The price of gas is going up so fast that even government reports can't keep up with it. A few days after the federal Energy Information Administration said in its weekly report that the average price of regular gas in the U.S. is $3.19 per gallon -- marking the highest average February price since the government started keeping track in 1990 -- the AAA fuel gauge report on Thursday put the national average at $3.22. The price rose three cents per gallon in a day.

The average price of a gallon of gasoline in the United States rose slightly in the last two weeks and will likely hold steady for some time, according to an industry analyst.

The average retail price for gasoline dipped below $2.50 a gallon for the first time in two months Monday as swelling oil supplies and slumping demand overshadowed even a fire at a major U.S. refinery.

After rising nearly every day for the past two months and climbing 67 percent so far this year, it looks like gasoline prices may be ready to take a break.