Oil jumped to the highest level in more than a week after some positive news about the global economy.
Oil was also pushed higher by a fall in the dollar. Monday's 3 percent rise to more than $87 per barrel all but erased losses in oil markets last week.
For people filling up at the pump, though, crude is still in a range above last year's levels. That means gasoline prices should be higher than what they were in 2010.
On Monday, gasoline cost $3.594 per gallon, on average, down less than a penny, according to AAA, Wright Express and Oil Price Information Service. A gallon is still about 84 cents higher than it was last year, although regular is 8 cents cheaper than it was in July.
Crude rose Monday after Japan's economy shrank less than expected from April to June.
West Texas Intermediate crude for September delivery surged $2.50 to $87.88 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, its highest finish since Aug. 3.
Brent crude, which is used to price many international oil varieties, rose $1.88 to finish at $109.91 on the ICE Futures exchange in London.
In other Nymex trading for September contracts, heating oil rose 4.04 cents to end at $2.9441 per gallon and gasoline futures gained 5.23 cents to end the day at $2.8745 per gallon. Natural gas fell 3.6 cents to finish at $4.024 per million British thermal units.
