Chester-based Southside Oil LLC has bought 172 Exxon retail gasoline stations, mainly in Maryland, more than doubling the company’s retail operations. The privately held company did not disclose the terms of the sale. Southside Oil is a wholesale gasoline distribution company owned by Steven and Linda Uphoff. The Uphoffs also operate 42 Uppy’s Convenience Stores Inc. locations in Virginia. They own the property where 67 other BP and ExxonMobil gas stations are, but they don’t operate those stations.

Despite persistently low demand, prices for gasoline have spiked over the past week along with crude oil, threatening one of the very few points of relief for the recession-stricken U.S. consumer: cheap gas. Prices have risen for three straight weeks, reaching a national average of $2.574 per gallon of unleaded regular, the Energy Information Administration said yesterday.

Good economic news is bad gas-price news for motorists. Even though demand for gasoline is poor, prices have been rising in lockstep with the optimistic stock market. “When we get positive economic news, we’re seeing oil prices go up,“ said Windy VanCuren with the AAA Mid-Atlantic travel group. “And gas prices mimic oil prices, so they’re going to go up.“

Surge in crude prices during the past few months and less production from the refiners that make gasoline has added pressure on prices.

Gas prices have climbed nationally for almost 50 straight days as speculation about an economic recovery seems to have trumped market fundamentals. The national average rose a half-cent yesterday to $2.674 per gallon, according to auto club AAA, Wright Express and the Oil Price Information Service. How much higher will prices at the pump go? AAA predicts increases through the July Fourth holiday, but not dramatic swings such as those that walloped the nation last summer when prices topped $4 per gallon.

Energy prices are starting to soar again. Oil prices, for starters, have broken free of the fundamentals that usually rule the market and are rising despite a glut in surplus crude oil. Benchmark crude climbed to its highest level in eight months yesterday, touching $73.23 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Gas prices at the pump have been surging, too, reaching a national average of $2.63 a gallon, with Richmond-area prices nearly 20 cents cheaper.

While crude settled above $70 a barrel yesterday for the first time this year, gasoline prices failed to rise for the first time in 42 days, signaling a possible break for motorists as summer driving shifts into high gear. Benchmark crude for July delivery rose $1.92 to close at $70.01 a barrel in trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange, hitting a new 2009 high of $70.18 during the afternoon.

Oil and gasoline prices continued a recession-defying march higher yesterday, doubling in the past six months largely on optimism of a strengthening economy. The predictions for just how high oil can reach this year, just like 2008, continue to creep upward just five months removed from crude priced around $32 per barrel. Benchmark crude for July delivery rose $1.23 to settle at $66.31 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

When gas prices hit $4 a gallon last summer, Joyce and Ricky Eagle of Warrenton simply padded their travel budget a little before tooling around the Midwest in their motor home. This year, gas is considerably cheaper. But the Eagles’ 36-foot Holiday Rambler will stay in the driveway. The reason? The software company Ricky works for sliced 20 percent off his paycheck.

Retail gasoline prices continued to climb yesterday ahead of the Memorial Day weekend and the unofficial start of America’s summer driving season. The national average pump price increased nearly 3 cents overnight to $2.39 a gallon, according to auto club AAA, Wright Express and Oil Price Information Service. Gasoline prices have ticked higher every day this month.

Gasoline prices surged 8 cents per gallon over the weekend in the Richmond area, but there is hope that prices at the pump won’t repeat the record highs of last summer. Richmond-area gas prices rose to an average of $2.11 a gallon yesterday morning, AAA Mid-Atlantic reported. That was up from $2.03 per gallon Friday and $1.94 per gallon one month ago.

A host of reasons accounts for the gap between Virginia’s available transportation dollars and the state’s transportation wish list, from land-use policy to the precedence that maintenance takes over construction. A static gasoline tax also plays a significant part. It was set in 1986 at 17.5 cents per gallon, and hasn’t budged since. Thanks to inflation, 17.5 cents buys a lot less than it used to. Today it takes $194 to buy what $100 would buy in 1986.

Although recession-plagued Americans remain reluctant to burn much gasoline, prices at the pump are now creeping above $2 a gallon as oil prices have surged. The national average price of unleaded regular gasoline rose 2 cents to $2.01 a gallon yesterday, the highest in almost five months, the motor club AAA reported based on its daily survey of retail stores.

Geopolitical events are partly to blame for the recent uptick in the price of gasoline, but weak demand is still holding it down.

The average family in Virginia now is spending about $200 less each month to fill up compared with in July, when gas reached its peak, officials with the AAA Mid-Atlantic motor club said, based on government estimates of average household gasoline use.