Gasoline prices up despite sinking oil

Crude oil fell sharply on the New York futures market Monday, down $2.82 to $95.09 a barrel, on concerns that a cooling U.S. economy would curb demand.

But retail gasoline prices were still playing catch-up and climbed higher over the last week in California and the U.S., the Energy Department said.

The average price of a gallon of self-serve regular gasoline in California rose 3 cents to $3.328, which was nearly 70 cents higher than the year-earlier price, according to the Energy Information Administration’s weekly survey of filling stations.

The national average rose by 5.6 cents to $3.109, which was more than 80 cents above the same week in 2007.

Not even a confrontation between Iranian patrol boats and U.S. warships in the Strait of Hormuz could boost crude Monday as traders seemed to dismiss the incident.

More weight apparently was given to Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson Jr., who said Monday that there were no easy solutions for the nation’s real estate crisis. That followed last Friday’s Labor Department jobs report, which showed that U.S. employers added fewer jobs than expected in December.

“There are serious concerns about the U.S. economy,” said Phil Flynn, vice president and senior market analyst for Alaron Trading Corp. in Chicago. “Add to that the warmer weather we are having and there was no way for oil to advance today.”

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