US gas prices at the pump rise for the first time in three months

US consumers are facing higher gasoline prices at the pump as wholesalers sell crude oil onto them at rising prices, Lundberg Survey has said.

The Lundberg Survey said the national average price of self-serve, regular gas was $3.51 on July 27, up from $3.41 on June July 13.

The survey of 2,500 gas stations, that comes out every other or every third week, indicated that the rise was the first in the last 14 weeks.

Gasoline prices fell over 14% from a recent peak of $3.967 a gallon set on April 6 before rising last week. The record high is $4.112 set on July 11, 2008.

Trilby Lundberg, who conducts the survey, in an interview said the rise was because crude stopped falling and wholesalers began passing the higher price onto the consumer, something that was not seen in the early part of the month.

The price of crude, which Lundberg said “dictates more than any other factor what happens to gas prices”, settled Friday at $90.13 per barrel. That price had been as high as $110.55 as recently as March 1.

U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate ended the week higher after data showing a slower U.S. growth rate could open the door for more monetary easing when the Federal Reserve meets on Tuesday.

Gasoline prices have fluctuated greatly during the turbulent economic climate that has presided since 2008.

According to The Week, from 2002 -2008, the average price of regular gas went from $1.06 to $4.11 before dropping again in 2009. Since 2009, meanwhile, prices have more than doubled.

The devastating recession saw millions thrown out of work and demand for gasoline fall. Prices lowered for a time in 2009 before rising again.

The reason for this is the ever-changing market cycles of supply and demand around the world.

Crude oil prices are set on the world market and gasoline prices have been rising since 2000.

According to fuelfix.com, increased production of crude oil would change the expectations of oil speculators. This would, in turn, lower crude oil prices and gasoline prices.