Gas prices up 38% from last year

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Gas prices edged higher, rising for the eighth straight day, according to a nationwide survey of credit card swipes at gasoline stations.

The average price of unleaded regular rose 0.1 cent to $3.855 a gallon, according to the survey released Wednesday by motorist group AAA.

That followed increases of 1 cent on Tuesday, 4.7 cents on Monday, 5.8 cents Saturday and 6.2 cents Sunday. Sunday's jump marked the biggest one-day spike for gas prices since Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast in 2005.

Hurricane Ike slammed into Texas early Saturday, shutting down the heart of the nation's refinery operations. Crude prices have been trending lower amid weakening demand and in response to the recent slew of storms and hurricanes.

On Tuesday, oil prices tumbled to a seven-month low as the crisis on Wall Street spooked a market already skittish about a globals slowdown. Oil prices have plunged more than $10 a barrel over the past two days.

Meanwhile, drivers had just started breathing a sigh of relief as gas prices appeared to be moving further and further away from the record high price of $4.114 a gallon set July 17.

But gas prices have now gained for eight days in a row. While prices remain 6.3% down from the July high, they are still up $1.06, or 38%, from a year earlier.

Eleven states reported gas prices above $4 a gallon in the AAA survey: Alaska, Alabama, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee.