By Brad Foss
The Associated Press

With oil trading at two-year highs, motorists nationwide should expect to see a gradual rise in gasoline prices. But some recent overnight spikes in the Midwest are shocking motorists and even veteran market watchers.

They include post-Christmas increases of 20 cents a gallon in Lexington, Ky., and 16 cents a gallon in Findlay, Ohio.

Normally prices rise a couple of pennies at a time but, after keeping prices steady throughout much of December, retailers may now be rushing to pass along record-high wholesale prices to consumers, analysts said.

"Whoa!" Jacob Bournazian, an analyst who tracks gasoline trends for the Energy Department, said Friday. He had heard of similar increases in Western Pennsylvania.

"Basically, retail prices have to adjust to what's going on with wholesale markets," he said.

U.S. fuel supplies remain adequate but have gotten tighter, Mr. Bournazian said, because of the loss of oil and gasoline shipments from Venezuela.

The price of crude for February delivery rose 23 cents Friday to $32.72 per barrel - a two-year high - on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The wholesale price of gasoline rose 0.28 cent to 93.25 cents a gallon, levels not seen since June 2001.

On Monday, the nationwide retail price of gasoline was $1.40 per gallon.

Whether the price spikes in Kentucky and Ohio are an anomaly or the beginning of a trend remains to be seen, analysts said.

Linda Casey, a spokeswoman for Speedway, confirmed that a systemwide gasoline price increase had gone into effect.

Ms. Casey said Speedway's prices typically follow those of its major competitors in the Midwest, particularly Cincinnati-based Kroger, which also sells gasoline. A spokesman for Kroger could not be reached for comment.