U.S. gas prices top $4 average

San Francisco -- U.S. drivers Sunday faced average regular gas prices topping $4 per gallon for the first time, the latest AAA survey showed.

The auto club determined the nation's average price for a gallon of regular unleaded gas rose 0.2 cents Sunday to $4.005. The price jump came as the cost of a barrel of crude oil surged to $139 Friday and was helped along by the continuing weakness of the U.S. dollar.

In California, where the $4-per-gallon barrier was passed two weeks ago, drivers were facing the possibility of $5-per-gallon gasoline as the average price in San Francisco jumped to $4.42 per gallon, the San Francisco Chronicle said.
At those prices, many low-income people will be faced with severe transportation problems, Rod Diridon, head of the Mineta Transportation Institute at San Jose State University, told the newspaper.

"There will be pressure on the average American and the wealthy American, but for the poor, that pressure will be strangulation," he said. "It won't be, 'Gee, this is expensive.' For them, they won't be able to afford the car."

Copyright 2008 by United Press International.