According to a Lundberg Survey report released on Sunday, the last two weeks witnessed nearly a quarter per gallon increase in the US gasoline prices, largely because of refinery shutdowns and a rise in crude oil prices.

With the statistics released by the survey revealing that there has been a 25-cent jump in the average US cost of one gallon of gasoline over the past two weeks, the cost of one gallon of regular was $3.59 on Friday. While the average cost of midgrade was $3.75 per gallon, the average price of premium was $3.89.

As per the most recent Lundberg Survey, covering the period that ended February 8, the maximum average price - of $4.10 - of one gallon of gasoline was recorded in Los Angeles; while the minimum average, of $3.05, was recorded in Billings, Montana.

About the increase in the average price of a gallon of regular, the survey's publisher Trilby Lundberg told CNN that the figures reported on Friday marked a 24.75-cent jump over the January 25 survey's canvass of approximately
2,500 filling stations in the Continental US.

Noting that the gasoline prices had "bottomed out in late December," Lundberg said: "Wholesale gasoline price hikes were already occurring, and they took on speed in these two weeks. Retailers are feeling the pinch."