As of March 8, the price of Regular and Premium were up six and seven cents each, respectively, from the previous week and have risen for the 15th consecutive week. According to GasBuddy.com, California has the highest average price for Regular at $3.77 and Mississippi has the cheapest at $2.45. The WTIC end-of-day spot price closed at 65.05, up 7.3% from the last week.

How far are we from the interim high prices of 2011 and the all-time highs of 2008? Here's a visual answer.

The next chart is a monthly chart overlay of West Texas Light Crude, Brent Crude, and unleaded gasoline end-of-day spot prices (GASO).

In this monthly chart, the WTIC end of day spot price closed at 65.06, up 7.3% from last week.

The volatility in crude oil and gasoline prices has been clearly reflected in recent years in both the Consumer Price Index (CPI) and Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE). For additional perspective on how energy prices are factored into the CPI, see What Inflation Means to You: Inside the Consumer Price Index.

The chart below offers a comparison of the broader aggregate category of energy inflation since 2000, based on categories within the Consumer Price Index (commentary here).