U.S. average gasoline price rises to $2.68/gallon

By Joseph A. Giannone

NEW YORK, Nov 8 (Reuters) - The average U.S. price of gasoline at the pump rose 3 cents to about $2.68 a gallon during the two weeks ended Nov. 6, its highest point this year, according to an industry analyst.

Trilby Lundberg, who surveys retail prices at about 7,000 gasoline stations nationwide, said the rate of increase slowed from the prior two-week period, but that she expects it will probably be the 2009 peak price barring a major surge in crude oil prices.

"Prices will probably fall from here. Gasoline demand is likely to weaken further," Lundberg told Reuters in an interview from her Camarillo, California, office.

In addition to a seasonal drop off in consumption, she said for the first time this year the current price was higher than the year-earlier period. In the Nov. 6 period, it was 39 cents higher.

Lundberg observed that the loss of that gasoline discount comes as unemployment rates are rising. Higher prices and more joblessness will hurt overall demand, she said.

By comparison, Lundberg noted that prices in the survey period ended Jan. 9 this year was $1.71 cheaper than the year before. That year-over-year discount lasted all year until the most recent period.

"This couldn't come at a worse time," she said. "Suddenly, that aid to the consumer has been reversed."

At $3.30 a gallon, Anchorage, Alaska, had the highest average price for self-serve regular unleaded gas, while the lowest price was $2.36 a gallon in Tucson, Arizona.

(Reporting by Joseph A. Giannone; Editing Bernard Orr)