US gasoline price up first time in 16 weeks-gov't

By Tom Doggett

WASHINGTON, Jan 5 (Reuters) - U.S. retail gasoline prices have risen for the first time in 16 weeks as higher crude oil costs were reflected at the pump, the government said on Monday.

The national price for regular unleaded gasoline jumped 7.1 cents over the last week to $1.68 a gallon, but was still down $1.43 from a year ago, the federal Energy Information Administration said in its weekly survey of service stations.

Even though fuel costs increased, it was still the lowest pump price during the first week of a new year since 2004, according to the Energy Department's analytical arm.

Still, gasoline prices are up because of higher crude oil costs, which have soared from about $35 a barrel since Israel took military action against Gaza on Dec. 27 to $48 a barrel in trading on Monday at the New York Mercantile Exchange.

An Iranian military commander has called on Islamic oil producers to cut supplies to Israel's supporters in Europe and the United States, though an OPEC source said that was unlikely to happen.

The higher crude oil costs are passed on to consumers at the pump.

In the EIA's weekly survey, gasoline was most expensive on the West Coast at $1.85 a gallon, up 5.6 cents from last week. San Francisco had the highest city price at $1.91, up 6.4 cents.

The Rocky Mountain states had the lowest regional price at $1.50 a gallon, down 1.1 cents. Houston had the lowest city pump price, up 3 cents at $1.47.