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Due to falling reserves, a slightly weaker dollar, and belief in the economic recovery, the price of oil has climbed to over $78 per barrel, which is its highest price since December 1, when the price stood at just below $78.50.

In turn, there has been slight pressure on the price of gasoline, which is up two cents for the week and now stands at $2.61 per gallon. There is usually a little bit of a lag between when swings in the price of oil hit the price of gasoline, so there will likely be a slight jump in the price of gasoline over the coming weeks.

Over the past month, the price of gasoline has moved in a very narrow range between $2.58 and $2.64 per gallon.

While this is certainly welcome news to cash-strapped consumer, the jump in the price of gasoline over the past year certainly is not. The price of gasoline is now $1 â€“ or 62% – higher than it was at this time last year.

Currently, only Alaska ($3.77) and Hawaii ($3.68) are reporting state-wide average gasoline prices above $3 per gallon, while 14 states are reporting an average price below $2.50 per gallon. Missouri has the lowest average gasoline price in the United States at $2.41 per gallon.