from america s news headquarters, i m ainsley earhardt. japan s nikkei stock index, rebounding after a rocky opening, stocks falling 1 1/2% on early trading on news that highly toxic plutonium was found in the soil at the crippled fukushima nuclear plant. the amount said to be small and not pose a health risk. also, tokyo electric power says new pools of radioactive water were found leaking from the plant. the commerce department reporting consumer spending up slightly in february. much of that money going to pay for gasoline. it s now more expensive than ever for this time of year. the national average, $3.58 a gallon. that s 78 cents more than this time last year. economists are concerned if energy costs keep going up, it could leave consumers with less money to spend on other items. i m ainsley earhardt. we return to on the record
years. we had seen the market looks like it could open higher in 15 seconds. it pulled back and is sitting at the flat line. we ll keep an eye on this. we also get consumer confidence numbers coming up in a half hour s time. that could be a movement in the market as well. if you ve been keeping track of prices at the pump, they ve been climbing. but aaa says the national average nor a gallon of gasoline is $3.58. that s the highest level we ve seen this time of year. earlier today it looked like we may get relief. yesterday we saw oil prices come down. today they re down 20 cents. saudi arabia has been talking to oil service companies trying to figure out how to get more rigs in the area. they want to raise production by as much as 28% to 30%, and that has been putting a little bit of pressure on oil prices. it s also getting into earnings season.
repeated leaks. and now, more on the plutonium there. that has been found five separate locations in the plant compound itself, and half a mile away from the reactors, and they found it in samples taken a week ago and they cannot give us updates on the rates of plutonium today but there is indication from officials that they expect levels to be much higher and they expect further leaks from different sources and they are not sure which plant it is coming from, most likely number three because that has uranium and plutonium from there so until they find out the source it is hard to tackle the problem. it is going to take quite some time. shepard: thank you, dominic, gas prices are up today for the 6 the day in a row with national average climbing to $3.58 and oil prices fell, slightly, after
with so many it s hard to see the difference. but this is the way most dentists choose. fact is, more dentists use an oral-b toothbrush than any other bsh. trust the brush more dentists and hygienists use.oral-b. bret: gal is now more expensive than ever gasoline is more extensive than ever. national gasoline is $3.58, that is 78 cents more than this time last year. april crude fell above 40 to settle at $103.98 a barrel. americans earned and prevent a little more in february. consumer spending rose .07 of
for people with diabetes like me. [ male announcer ] accu-chek aviva. born in the usa. a new report finds worries about soaring gasoline and food prices pushed the consumer sentiment index to its lowest level in more than a year. gas prices keep creeping up and aaa says the national average is now $3.58 a gallon, which is 29 cents higher than just one month ago, 70 cents higher than a year ago. but higher prices could actually be a sign of an improving economy, according to rick newman, chief business correspondent for u.s. news & world report. all right, are you really pushing it here? are you looking for some silver linings? yes, i want everyone to pay more for everything. no, that s not the case. but you say it s a sign of a growing economy? well, gas prices is the exception. that s accountable to things we can t control. but the other increases are happening for the most part because the economy s getting better.