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Newswire

US gasoline pump prices up, first time in 6 weeks

By Tom Doggett

WASHINGTON, Dec 16 (Reuters) - U.S. retail gasoline prices increased for the first time in six weeks, as a Venezuelan oil workers strike threatened to send fuel prices even higher at the pump, the Energy Department said on Monday.

The average price for a gallon of unleaded gasoline rose 0.3 cent over the last week to $1.363. U.S gasoline costs are up 30 cents a gallon from a year ago, based on a weekly survey of more than 800 service stations by the department's Energy Information Administration.

Higher gasoline costs reflect a jump in crude oil prices caused by striking Venezuelan oil workers, who want to force that country's president into early elections or to resign.

Crude oil prices in New York on Monday topped $30 a barrel for the first time since October. Those costs will eventually be felt at the gasoline pump, where the crude oil price accounts for about 42 percent of the cost of a gallon of gasoline.

The Energy Department has allowed firms to delay delivering millions of barrels of crude to the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve in an attempt to make sure the U.S. market has adequate oil supplies during the Venezuela crisis,

The national price for cleaner-burning reformulated gasoline, which is sold at about one-third of the gas stations in cities and smoggier areas, fell 0.2 cent to $1.446 a gallon, EIA said.

The New England states had the most expensive regular unleaded gasoline over the last week, with the average price in the region down half a penny to $1.472 a gallon.

The lower Atlantic states had the cheapest fuel, as the average price was down 0.2 cent to $1.295 a gallon.

Among cities, San Francisco kept its top spot in fuel costs, though the price was down a penny to $1.636 a gallon. Houston again had the best deal at the pump, with the price down 1.2 cents to $1.296 a gallon.

The report also showed gasoline prices down half a penny in New York City at $1.507, down 2.1 cents in Los Angeles at $1.452, down 1.6 cents in Chicago at $1.381 and down 2.6 cents in Denver at $1.362.

The biggest year-on-year change in city pump prices was in Los Angeles, where gasoline costs were up 45 cents a gallon from a year earlier.

Separately, the nationwide price for diesel fuel declined for a second week, down 0.4 cent to $1.401 a gallon, but still 26 cents higher from a year ago.

Truckers in New England paid the most for diesel fuel at $1.495 a gallon, up 0.3 cent from the prior week. The Gulf Coast states had the cheapest diesel at $1.349 a gallon, up 0.4 cent.