WASHINGTON, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- The price of regular gasoline rose across the United States last week, according to a report released by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) on Monday.
For the week ending Feb. 25, the U.S. average regular gasoline retail price rose over 7 cents from last week to 2.39 U.S. dollars per gallon, down by nearly 16 cents per gallon from a year ago.
Gasoline price typically rises due to more use of air conditioner as temperature goes up. Meanwhile, oil refineries in the United States usually shut down around March for routine maintenance, making the gasoline market a little bit tighter.
However, global crude oil market worries that the recent disturbance in Venezuela could add more pressure to crude oil supply, which could also make the gasoline price higher.
For West Coast area which includes the states of California, Oregon, Washington, Nevada, Arizona, Alaska and Hawaii, gasoline price increased 1 cent to 2.93 dollars per gallon, according to the EIA.
For Rocky Mountain area which includes the states of Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, Utah and Idaho, gasoline price edged up 1 cent to 2.19 dollars per gallon.
For Midwest area, which stands for the states of North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana and Tennessee, gasoline price remained almost unchanged, edging up less than 1 cent to 2.31 dollars per gallon.
For Gulf Coast area which includes the states of Texas, Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas and New Mexico, the gasoline price rose nearly 7 cents to 2.11 dollars per gallon.
For East Coast area, which includes all other states close to the Atlantic Ocean, the price increased more than 8 cents to 2.349 dollars per gallon.
