Inside these posts: Gasoline

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Ill. average gas price above $4, last seen in July ‘08

Steve Bruski, 22, of Albany Park fills up his car at a Mobil Station at the corner of Fullerton Ave. and Seminary Ave. in Chicago, March 7, 2011. (Heather Charles/Chicago Tribune)

Gas prices across Illinois and Indiana continued to climb in April from continuing unrest in the Middle East and the annual switchover to a more expensive summer blend of gasoline, according to AAA Chicago. It marked the first time the monthly average has been above $4 a gallon since July 2008.

Monthly average prices in Illinois and northern Indiana reached $4.02 and $3.90 respectively, AAA said this morning in its Fuel Gauge Report. In Illinois, regular unleaded gasoline has increased 39 cents during the past month and per-gallon prices are $1.02 higher than last year. Get the full story »

Gas averages $4.11 in Chicago, drivers cutting back

Gas prices continue to head higher, and as a result drivers are taking their foot off the accelerator and driving less. Get the full story »

USDA to help gas stations fund new ethanol pumps

The Department of Agriculture will soon begin helping gasoline stations install new pumps that can dispense ethanol to curtail the nation’s dependence on petroleum-based fuel, USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack said Friday. Get the full story »

Gas prices up 20% in 2011, 41 cents from high

U.S. gas prices have risen for 15 days straight days and are now within 41 cents of the all-time high of $4.114 a gallon, reached in July 2008.

The average price of unleaded jumped 2.2 cents overnight to $3.707 a gallon, according to motorist group AAA. In the past three weeks alone, prices have jumped 4 percent. Year to date, gas prices are up a whopping 20 percent. And it’s not even summer driving season yet, when prices tend to peak for the year. Get the full story »

U.S. gas prices rise 9 cents, hitting April record

Chicago gas prices jumped 18 cents last week. (Joe Raedle/Getty)

U.S. gasoline prices soared nearly 9 cents over the last week to $3.68 a gallon, the highest pump price on record for April, the Energy Department said on Monday.

The national price for regular unleaded gasoline is up 86 cents from a year ago, based on the department’s weekly survey of fuel prices at service stations. Cleveland and Chicago had the biggest weekly gasoline price increases, rising 19 and 18 cents a gallon, respectively. Get the full story »

Obama energy plan: Cut oil imports by a third

President Obama will focus on energy security amid high gasoline prices. (Reuters/Mike Blake)

President Barack Obama set an ambitious goal Wednesday to cut U.S. oil imports by a third over 10 years, focusing on a source of anxiety for Americans as high gasoline prices threaten economic recovery.

Obama outlined his strategy in a speech after spending days explaining U.S.-led military action in Libya, where fighting, accompanied by unrest elsewhere in the Arab world, has helped push U.S. gasoline prices toward $4 a gallon. Get the full story »

Gasoline prices finally reverse course

Gasoline prices dipped for a second straight day on Wednesday, providing a reprieve to motorists after a 20-day streak of gains, even though they’re expected to rise again.

The nationwide average price for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline slipped 0.3 cent to $3.533 on Wednesday, reported the motorist group AAA. In Chicago, gas prices were down 0.3 of a cent overnight to $3.693. A week ago, Chicago gas prices averaged $3.72. Get the full story »

U.S., Chicago gas prices spike 6 cents overnight

A customer purchases gasoline at a Chicago Shell station on Feb. 7, 2011. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)

U.S. gas prices jumped 6 cents overnight, as the recent spike in oil prices begins to hit filling stations across America. That marks the third day in a row that prices have risen, and brings the national average to the highest level since October 2008.

The national average price for a gallon of regular gas rose 5.9 cents to $3.287, motorist group AAA said Friday. Gasoline also jumped 6 cents overnight in Chicago, where prices averaged $3.497. Get the full story »

U.S. retail gasoline demand falls 3%

U.S. retail gasoline demand fell last week for the first time in a month after a massive snowstorm hit a large swath of the country, clogging traffic and curbing demand.

Average gasoline demand fell 3 percent to 8.73 million barrels per day in the week to Feb. 4. Get the full story »

BP brings back dividend despite losses

BP PLC Tuesday resumed its corporate dividend and deepened strategic changes. But the company’s earnings came in below expectations, as BP signaled that short-term oil and gas volumes would continue to drop. Get the full story »

EPA approves wider use of ethanol in gas

U.S. regulators on Friday backed a request that would sharply boost the use of corn-based ethanol in more than half the nation’s cars, elevating the stakes in a contentious debate over the safety and cost of converting more corn into fuel.

TheĀ  Environmental Protection Agency’s announcement boosting the ethanol blend rate in gasoline to 15 percent from 10 percent in vehicles built from 2001 to 2006 was not a surprise, coming just months after it allowed the E15 in cars and trucks built in 2007 or later. Get the full story »

Former Shell president predicts $5 gas by 2012

The former president of Shell Oil, John Hofmeister, says Americans could be paying $5 for a gallon of gasoline by 2012.

In an interview with Platt’s Energy Week television, Hofmeister predicted gasoline prices will spike as the global demand for oil increases.

“I’m predicting actually the worst outcome over the next two years which takes us to 2012 with higher gasoline prices,” he said. Get the full story »

More Illinois residents to travel for Thanksgiving

Terminal One of O'Hare International Airport. (Phil Velasquez/Chicago Tribune)

More than 2 million Illinois travelers will fly or drive to a destination over Thanksgiving weekend this year, a nearly 12 percent increase from the 2009 holiday, AAA Chicago said Tuesday.

The motoring organization said 2.25 million Illinois residents are expected to travel, with 2.1 million in cars and 87,000 flying. The average cost of an unleaded gallon of gasoline is $3.05 in Illinois and $2.90 in neighboring Indiana, AAA Chicago said.

The projected increase in Illinois Thanksgiving travelers is slightly more than what is forecast nationwide. AAA expects an 11.4 percent jump in the number of travelers from 2009, with 42.2 million people going at least 50 miles from their home. Of that amount, 94 percent — 39.7 million people — will be driving. Get the full story »

Food producers sue to stop ethanol boost in gas

Livestock producers and food industry groups filed a suit on Tuesday seeking to overturn a U.S. decision to allow higher levels of ethanol in gasoline, saying it could push up food prices.

The Grocery Manufacturers Association, the National Meat Association and other groups sued the Environmental Protection Agency, saying regulators overstepped their authority when they ruled last month that gasoline retailers could sell fuel containing up to 15 percent ethanol, up from 10 percent now. Get the full story »

Wal-Mart offers $4 billion for S. Africa’s Massmart

Wal-Mart is in talks to buy South Africa’s Massmart, a $4 billion deal that would give the U.S. retailer a big presence in fast-growing Africa and boost its emerging markets strategy. Get the full story »