LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The U.S. 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 stabilized last week before Thursday and Friday's spike of U.S. 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.
High prices have taken a bite out of U.S. gasoline 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.
"It's looking like the late 1970s or the early 1980s," said Sundstrom referring to increased sales of smaller vehicles and hybrids, which run on both electricity and gasoline.
"AAA expresses the same degree of shock and concern that consumers all over the United States are feeling as gasoline prices reach this very high level," said Sundstrom. "The upcoming national presidential and congressional elections ought to reflect the concern in the policy debates that are about to take place."
While Americans cringe at the price of gasoline, they are still paying far less than drivers in many nations, including most European countries. Britain, France and Germany each have average gasoline prices that are at least double the average price in the United States, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
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