This week’s SpendingPulse report of U.S. gasoline demand reveals that consumption increased to the highest level so far this year, yet still falls short of 2010 levels. For the week ending April 15, 2011, demand fell for the seventh-consecutive week in year-over-year terms, down 1.6% from a comparable week in 2010. The average retail price of a gallon of regular gas increased sharply again, up 9 cents from a week ago. It averaged $3.81 per gallon the past week, 33.7% higher than a year ago. After marking three consecutive week-to-week declines, gasoline demand posted a noticeable increase this past week compared to the week ending April 8, 2011.

It’s interesting to note that the four-week moving average year-over-year rate has steadily eroded over the past seven weeks. The most current observed week recorded a 2.1% year-over-year decline, compared to the 2.6% growth recorded for the week ending February 25, 2011. This is the lowest four-week moving average year-over-year rate observed this year. The average price for a gallon of regular gasoline exceeded $3.80 for the first time since the week ending August 8, 2008. It’s now about 75 cents higher than at the beginning of 2011 and almost a dollar more than prices at the pump a year ago.

From a regional perspective, prices rose at fairly consistent rates of between 7 cents and 9 cents. While several cities report prices exceeding $4 a gallon for regular gasoline, the West Coast is the first region to post, on average, prices over $4. The Midwest, Rocky Mountain and West Coast regions posted the largest year-over-year declines this past week (in the 2% to 3% range), while the East Coast posted slightly less severe declines of about 1% from a comparable week a year ago. The Gulf coast was virtually flat, posting a minuscule 0.1% increase year-over-year.

Read more from Associated Press.

Also appears on The Heart of Commerce Blog.

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