Retail gasoline prices are creeping up at a time when unemployment remains high.  Gasoline prices in Phoenix jumped 12 cents in the past week to $2.52 per gallon. Gas is still less expensive than it was one year ago when the Phoenix average was nearly $2.72 per gallon.

Nationwide, gasoline prices reached a new peak for the year on Friday at nearly $2.70 per gallon, marking the 17th consecutive day that pump prices inched higher.  The rising pump prices come as oil prices have climbed $17 per barrel since August and the dollar has weakened, making gas more expensive for U.S. consumers.

Still, some experts believe that optimism about economic recovery may be pushing fuel prices higher rather than demand at the pump. After all, supplies remain robust and the nation's unemployment is at the highest level in 26 years.

"There are still a lot of people without jobs," said Denton Cinquegrana, West Coast markets editor for Oil Price Information Service. "When you don't have a job to drive to, that takes a lot of cars off the road." Retail gasoline prices are creeping up at a time when unemployment remains high.

Gasoline prices in Phoenix jumped 12 cents in the past week to $2.52 per gallon. Gas is still less expensive than it was one year ago when the Phoenix average was nearly $2.72 per gallon. Nationwide, gasoline prices reached a new peak for the year on Friday at nearly $2.70 per gallon, marking the 17th consecutive day that pump prices inched higher.  The rising pump prices come as oil prices have climbed $17 per barrel since August and the dollar has weakened, making gas more expensive for U.S. consumers.

Still, some experts believe that optimism about economic recovery may be pushing fuel prices higher rather than demand at the pump. After all, supplies remain robust and the nation's unemployment is at the highest level in 26 years.  "There are still a lot of people without jobs," said Denton Cinquegrana, West Coast markets editor for Oil Price Information Service. "When you don't have a job to drive to, that takes a lot of cars off the road."