The price of a barrel of oil remained relatively unchanged last week and settled Thursday during the shortened trading week at $103.31 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange—29 cents more than the week prior. Both bullish and bearish factors are weighing on the market, helping to keep oil price somewhat stable. The continued tensions with Iran, U.S. economic recovery, and a slight increase in gasoline demand place upward pressure on oil prices, while European debt issues cause prices to retreat. U.S. demand for gasoline increased in the last week of March by 0.8 percent to 8.8 million barrels a day, the highest level since December 23.
 
"The reduced price of oil is starting to slow down the rate of increase at the pump, however gas prices are still expected to move higher this week, just at a slower pace," said Jessica Brady, AAA spokeswoman, The Auto Club Group. "Pump prices are at an all-time high for this time of year and it's likely the national average for regular retail gasoline will reach $4 a gallon this month."

The average U.S. household spent 8.7 percent of their income on gas last month. July 2008 set the U.S. record as the most expensive month for gasoline and caused the average American household to spend 10.2 percent of their income to fill up their gas tank, according to the Oil Price Information Service (OPIS). In 2008, the national average reached a record high of $4.11 for a gallon of regular retail gasoline. The most expensive consecutive months on record for gas are May through August 2008, when U.S. households paid between 9.5 and 10.2 percent of their income on fuel.

"This year has the potential to break the 2008 record as the most expensive year for fuel costs," said Brady.

The national average price of regular unleaded gasoline is the same as last week at $3.92 a gallon. Florida’s average of $3.97 increased 4 cents, while Georgia’s average of $3.86 increased 2 cents from last week. Tennessee’s average price of $3.79 increased 3 cents from last week, respectively.

CURRENT AND PAST PRICE AVERAGES

Regular Unleaded Gasoline

                        Current              Week Ago         Month Ago        Year Ago

National:           $3.929              $3.925              $3.758              $3.750

Florida:             $3.970              $3.936              $3.790              $3.749

Georgia:           $3.863              $3.844              $3.694              $3.618

Tennessee:       $3.793             $3.762              $3.590              $3.586  

Visit AAA’s Daily Fuel Gauge Report to find national, state, and local metro market retail gasoline prices.