Gasoline prices again on rise

Those worries have since ebbed, oil is rising again, and the stock market has started to recover some of its recent losses.

Kloza said he expects the price increases to be modest.

“Much higher prices would roil the economic picture, and the oil price rally has been largely on the coattails of the stock market recovery,’’ he said.

Pump prices rose 0.3 cent to a national average of $2.737 per gallon yesterday, according to AAA, Wright Express, and Oil Price Information Service. Prices have risen 3.9 cents in the past week and are 7.5 cents below levels of a month ago. Pump prices are 4.4 cents higher than a year ago.

The government’s Energy Information Administration said the national average price for a gallon of unleaded regular rose 4.2 cents last week, to $2.74 a gallon. California drivers paid the most, with pump prices averaging $3.10 a gallon. Prices were lowest in Virginia, the Carolinas, Georgia, and Florida, where the average was $2.63 a gallon.

Oil prices gave up earlier gains yesterday afternoon. China’s move to end its currency’s peg to the dollar initially fanned enthusiasm for crude, since a stronger yuan will make dollar-based commodities like oil cheaper in China and bolster demand. But uncertainty about how quickly China may implement currency changes trimmed oil prices. Crude gained 64 cents to settle at $77.82 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange after rising as high as $78.92.

In other Nymex trading, heating oil rose 1.70 cents to settle at $2.1459 a gallon and gasoline dropped 0.48 cent to settle at $2.1428 a gallon.