Gas prices up nearly 16 cents
A gallon of gas now costs $3.10 on average, up over 75 cents from prices at this time last year.

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(CNN) -- -- Gas prices swelled nearly 16 cents over the past two weeks, rising to a national average of $3.10, a survey said Sunday.

The Lundberg survey tallied prices on Feb. 22 and compared them with those of Feb. 8 and found they had risen 15.88 cents, publisher Trilby Lundberg told CNN in a telephone interview.

That's 75.24 cents above what the average price was at this time last year, she said.

The price increase nearly paralleled the increase in the cost of crude over the same two-week period. Nymex light grade, the main benchmark in the United States, closed Friday at $98.81 per barrel.

Given that each barrel contains 42 gallons, that works out to 16.76 cents per gallon, a penny more than the pump-price increase.

Crude heads up
The price of crude has been driven up in recent days due to a number of factors, including the weak dollar, increased demand from Asian countries and drama from some leaders of oil countries, such as Venezuela's Hugo Chavez, who had threatened to cut off sales to the United States.

Lundberg dismissed as "absurd" the prospect that members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries would cut production any time soon.

"They are certainly loving these prices," she said.

She predicted that prices could rise even further as seasonal demand picks up in April.

Phoenix drivers paid the least, at $2.87 per gallon of self-serve regular; Honolulu drivers paid the most, at $3.37.

San Francisco drivers paid the most of any city on the mainland, at $3.35 per gallon.

Prices in other cities included:

-- Atlanta: $3.09

-- Hartford, Conn.: $3.25

-- Houston: $3.00

-- Minneapolis: $2.98

-- Philadelphia, Pa.: $3.07

-- Saint Louis: $2.97

-- Salt Lake City: $2.97

-- Seattle, Wash.: $3.25

Cheaper gas stations have it for $2.97, but some have it over $3.

Just a week ago, it was only $2.64.

A couple days ago, when I filled up my car, I noticed that the pump's previous sale was $58.00 for 20 gallons. That's probably just one weeks' gas for somebody's SUV or large truck! Imagine $240 a month for gasoline!

Remember, most people don't have a lot of left-over (expendable) income. Every month they HAVE to pay for their mortgage, car payment, insurance, food, water, electric, etc.

If they have $200 left over to spend each month, and gasoline goes up by only $50 a month, that's a 25% reduction in spending ability!
That's how you have to look at it.

Matthew