The company is betting that steadily rising gasoline prices will eventually make electric-powered cars more attractive.
Rising gasoline prices didn't cause wholesale changes in consumer behavior, and falling prices won't either.
Brazilians also saw gasoline prices rising 1.96% (though, funny, Petrobras shares are still in free fall).
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For decades, problems such as rising gasoline prices and traffic congestion on I-15 have aggravated Vegas-bound weekenders.
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He worries that rising gasoline prices will eventually snuff out demand for cars the way it did in 2008.
The reading was below expectations, and represents the lowest consumer sentiment level in five months, driven down mainly by rising gasoline prices.
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While rising gasoline prices in February did not impact the headline numbers, Ford said the mix of vehicles it sold reflected a more fuel-conscious consumer.
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The battery switch system could also prove attractive to owners of corporate and government fleets whose vehicles drive predictable routes and face rising gasoline prices.
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Aside from rising gasoline prices the report showed that vehicle insurance premiums rose as did the cost of air transport and passenger vehicles, despite a dip seen in February.
Rising gasoline prices helped push wholesale prices higher, but the producer price index, which grew a seasonally adjusted 0.7 percent in February, has risen just 1.7 percent in the past 12 months.
That tax cut has provided important support for the economy, especially at a time when the economy was hit with some shocks such as rising gasoline prices and supply-side shocks from the earthquake in Japan, problems in Europe.
Much of the bill is funded by a gas tax, but the gas tax has not gone up in years on account of rising gasoline prices and fears that raising taxes would translate into higher prices at the pump for Americans, not for oil companies.
While the oil market is currently in surplus, and is forecast to remain so through next year, gasoline prices are still rising domestically, with California seeing prices hit an all-time high over the last few days.
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While consumers may continue to feel the bite from higher gasoline prices, investors can use these rising prices to their advantage.
Finished energy goods registered their fifth consecutive month of gains, up 3.3% on rising prices for gasoline, home heating oil, and residential electric power. (Read Why World Food Prices Will Keep Climbing).
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The increase was mostly due to a 2.1% increase in energy costs, including a 4.7% increase in the cost of gasoline, and rising food prices, including a 13.6% increase in the price of fresh fruit and melons.
Retail numbers from the Commerce Department Wednesday show that consumers have found more spending momentum to meet rising commodity and materials costs that are already being passed directly to consumers, with food prices, apparel, and most noticeably gasoline prices all rising in the first quarter of 2011.
FORBES: Retail Sales Rose In March As Inflation Fears Emerge For Food, Gas Prices
The rest of us see our purchasing power eaten away by rising prices for gasoline, cereal, bread, and a lot more.
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Economist Mark Zandi of Moody's Economy Web site says that rising oil and gasoline prices have not necessarily pulled up the price of other goods.
For now, sharply rising prices are mostly concentrated in oil and gasoline: Gasoline prices were up 6 percent in February alone, and 12.6 percent over the prior 12 months.
The way in which we get poorer is by rising prices such as those for gasoline, and a broad economic deterioration which is quite difficult to put your finger on exactly.
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"Rising crude oil prices may continue to push up the price of gasoline, offsetting any reduction in the fuel taxes, " says a May Congressional Research Service research report.
It shows up in many different ways, including anemic real GDP growth, wild swings in gasoline prices, 9.0% unemployment, stagnating real median incomes, and rising inequality.
Additionally, U.S. wholesale prices increased in February at the fastest pace in five months, driven by rising gasoline costs.
The culprits: Rising crude oil prices, slowing output at refineries that are undergoing maintenance, and low supplies of gasoline.
Equity analysts are unable to calculate what Petrobras can earn from gasoline sales because it has to assume low returns due to the subsidy, even if world oil prices are rising.
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