The average retail gasoline prices in the United States topped 3 dollars a gallon last week, the first time since last September, according a report released by the Department of Energy on Monday.

The department's Energy Information Administration said that the average gasoline price in the country was 3.003 dollars a gallon as of Monday, a gain of 1.4 cents from the previous week and 71.4 cents a gallon higher than a year ago.

Average retail prices of gasoline in the United States peaked at 3.07 dollars a gallon in early September resulting from the extreme tightness in the market following Hurricane Katrina, which knocked out refineries in the Gulf of Mexico region.

The average diesel prices also increased to 2.945 dollars a gallon last week, 2 cents higher than the previous week and 60.4 cents higher than the same time a year ago. It was also the highest level since the end of last October.

Source: Xinhua