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BEGIN TRANSCRIPT RUSH: This rising gas prices business. I had a memory jog during the break, so I went back and searched our own broadcast archives. Do you remember all those stories that the rising gas price didn't matter to you anymore? Remember all of those stories? Like this from Reuters, Wednesday, August 22nd: "Rising Gas Prices Aren't a Big Concern for Voters," by John Whitesides. CNNMoney.com: "Rising Gas Prices Aren't as Bad as You Think," March 21st, 2012. There were a bunch of more, and we marveled at them. Just as there were stories in the mid-nineties when Clinton...

SAN FRANCISCO -- California gas prices rose 17 cents a gallon overnight due to supply disruptions at some refineries and seasonally low inventories, bringing the one-week increase in the Golden State to nearly 36 cents. The average retail price of gasoline was $4.486 on Friday morning, up from $4.315 on Thursday and $4.131 a week ago, according to AAA data. The average price was $3.818 a year ago. The average price is just 12 cents below the highest recorded statewide price of $4.61, which was reached in June of 2008. "It's insane," said Matt Hurd, 35, who works in real...

FORTUNE -- President Obama may have a lot more to worry about than bombing the debate this week. Traders are starting to get particularly bullish over gasoline prices – and that is bad news for the average driver, who may also be looking to vent his spleen at the voting booth. Reports of gas shortages along the high-demand west and east coasts may be fleeting – although deeply concerning – but they highlight a problem that's expected to persist in the U.S.: our refineries are getting old. Given that a new refinery has not been built since 1976, commodities desks...

When Errol Emrich drove by a Shell station in his San Jose neighborhood last weekend, regular gas was selling for $4.05 a gallon. On Monday, it was $4.15. On Tuesday, $4.25. And this weekend? Analysts say it could reach a whopping $4.40. Problems at California refineries have slashed supplies across the state, cutting fuel production and raising wholesale prices -- the price stations pay for their gasoline -- by as much as 73 cents, to levels not seen since 2007. And that almost certainly will boost prices at the pump again soon. "California gasoline prices may surge in the next...

"The squeeze is on, and people are doing desperate things," is how one independent described the situation in California. As Bloomberg reports, a shortage of supply along with drastically higher wholesale prices of gasoline has caused 'mom-and-pop' gas stations to close down as their margins are destroyed. Even larger firms, such as CostCo, are closing sites due to the shortages as Los Angeles and San Francisco gas prices jump 30-45c in a few days. As one owner noted: "I can get gas, but it’s going to cost me $4.90 a gallon, and I can’t sell it here for $5," and...

U.S. consumer spending rose in August by the most in six months as households stretched to pay for higher gasoline prices, according to a government report on Friday that pointed to lackluster economic growth in the third quarter. The Commerce Department said consumer spending increased 0.5 percent after an unrevised 0.4 percent gain in July. Last month's rise was in line with economists' expectations. Consumer spending accounts for 70 percent of U.S. economic activity and the second straight month of increase mostly reflected higher gasoline prices, which rose 28.2 cents per gallon last month, though automobile purchases also helped.IO

Here's a question: If there's a disaster, a war, a severe drought or some other calamity that restricts future supplies of a commodity -- such as oil, coffee or corn -- what is the intelligent thing for people to do right away? If you said "use less now and try to produce more," you'd be absolutely correct. That's not rocket science, but understanding the machinery involved in getting people to do so is a bit more challenging. The best way to get people to use less and produce more is to allow prices to rise. For example, say a Middle...

So there I am, pulling into a gas station in my town, and Tarek is smiling. He owns the station, and right now he's charging me $4.25 a gallon. American motorists may not be better off than they were four years ago, but Tarek certainly is. When President Barack Obama took office, the average price for a gallon of regular gas was $1.84. That means gas prices have more than doubled on Obama's watch. But why? The primary reason is that the system is rigged. Oil companies watch the worldwide speculation market, and if the traders are bidding the price...

With prices at the pump worrying Americans, Republicans have railed against the Environmental Protection AgencyÂ’s new gas mandate that requires consumers to buy at least four gallons when purchasing from stations with hoses containing 10 percent and 15 percent ethanol-blended fuel. On Monday, Republicans on the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology sent a letter to Environmental Protection Agency Chief Administrator Lisa Jackson criticizing the agencyÂ’s approval of the sale of gasoline containing 15 volume percent ethanol. Specifically, the EPA will require that consumers purchase a minimum of four gallons when buying from a gas station that sells gasoline...

On Sept. 11, Pastor Lindsey Williams, former minister to the global oil companies during the building of the Alaskan pipeline, announced the most significant event to affect the U.S. dollar since its inception as a currency. For the first time since the 1970's, when Henry Kissenger forged a trade agreement with the Royal house of Saud to sell oil using only U.S. dollars, China announced its intention to bypass the dollar for global oil customers and began selling the commodity using their own currency.

Oil Just Tanked Out Of Nowhere... Joe WeisenthalSeptember 17, 2012Trying to get to the bottom of this. Oil just tanked. Here's the USO (ETF), which is a decent intraday proxy, falling nearly 3% in a flash. There's some chatter it's a fat finger, and others wondering if there's some kind of Strategic Oil Petroleum related news. More to come as we figure it out.

Average retail gasoline prices have more than doubled under President Obama, according to government statistics, rising from $1.84 per gallon to $3.85 per gallon. The average gasoline price is calculated by the Energy Information Agency, and shows that over the past 43 months of President Obama’s term retail gasoline prices have more than doubled, rising from an average of $1.84 per gallon to $3.85 per gallon. Rising gasoline prices were particularly prevalent in August, which saw a 9.0 percent rise in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for gasoline, a rise that almost entirely accounts for the general increase in prices...

More than 50 gas stations in New Jersey and Pennsylvania are jacking up prices to more than $9 a gallon to protest what they say are unfair pricing practices by Lukoil North America. Sal Risalvato of the New Jersey Gasoline, Convenience, Automotive Association said Wednesday's protest is aimed at getting Lukoil to respond to dealers' grievances. Fox affiliate WNYW reports that a station in South Plainfield, N.J., had signs listing regular gas for $8.99 a gallon and premium listed at $9.49 a gallon for cash and $9.59 for credit.

As the summer driving season comes to an end, motorists who were hoping gas prices would fall are instead getting hit with a big jump, especially in the Northeast. The average price of a gallon of regular gas increased 1.5 cents nationally for the second straight day, taking it to $3.86 in AAA's latest reading Wednesday. The back-to-back price moves follow what had been a lull in gas price activity after an August run-up in prices caused by Gulf Coast refinery disruptions as Hurricane Isaac approached. Prices had been expected to retreat quickly once the Gulf region's facilities came back...

More than 50 Lukoil gas stations in New Jersey and Pennsylvania jacked up prices to more than $8 a gallon Wednesday to protest what they say are unfair pricing practices by Lukoil North America that leave them at a competitive disadvantage. Dozens of Lukoil franchise owners also gathered to protest at a station in this central New Jersey town where the posted prices were an eye-popping $8.99 a gallon. The owners and the New Jersey Gasoline, Convenience, Automotive Association said the one-day protest was aimed at raising consumer awareness about the challenges facing Lukoil dealers and getting the company to...

SAN RAMON, Calif. - Paul Ryan said today the president has gone to "great lengths" to make gas more expensive in this country. The vice presidential candidate visited Google headquarters in Montainview to hold a Google+ Hangout where he took questions from supporters at campaign offices all over the country, including a question from a senior citizen in Florida named Ruth. She asked him how he was going to "improve the situation" of sky high gas prices. "This is not just something that squeezes family budgets, it squeezes businesses," Ryan answered. "It also gives us a bad foreign policy in...

Gas prices have jumped nearly 8 cents a gallon over the past two weeks, and are approaching the high for the year, according to a survey published Sunday. The average price of regular is now $3.84 a gallon, just 13 cents below the peak that was reached this year in April, the Lundberg Survey found. "It's due mostly, but not entirely, to storm-related refinery shutdowns," said publisher Trilby Lundberg. Hurricane Isaac and the resulting power outages caused refineries to close, particularly in the Gulf region. About a penny in the price jump is the result of a slight rise in...

Oil ended the day Thursday at $95.53, up just 17 cents. Tulsa — While you were sleeping gas prices in Tulsa jumped 15 cents at most Tulsa area convenience stores. The price at the pump is now $3.69 a gallon for regular unleaded, up from $3.54 on Thursday. Oil prices rose above $97 per barrel on Thursday, but then gave up most of their gains in late trading. Prices were also boosted by reports showing more private-sector hiring and fewer unemployment claims in the U.S. Positive economic news tends to boost oil prices, because traders anticipate that stronger economies will...

While all eyes were on the Republican National Convention in Tampa and Hurricane Isaac on the Gulf Coast, the White House was quietly jacking up the price of automobiles and putting future drivers at risk. Yes, the same cast of fable-tellers who falsely accused GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney of murdering a steelworker's cancer-stricken wife is now directly imposing a draconian environmental regulation that will cost untold American lives. On Tuesday, the administration announced that it had finalized "historic" new fuel efficiency standards. (Everything's "historic" with these narcissists, isn't it?) President Obama took a break from his historic fundraising drives...