A 99-day stretch of declines in the average U.S. national gasoline price came to an end on Wednesday, a sign that the effect of falling fuel costs, which have recently helped temper overall inflation , might be waning. The decline to date has only partly reversed a prolonged run-up in gas prices, which accelerated after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February and continues to roil consumers. What to do about energy-driven inflation has also become a political problem for President Biden and a policy challenge for the Federal Reserve, which is expected to announce another big interest rate increase on Wednesday after its meeting. The national average gas price rose seven-tenths of one cent to $3.68 a gallon on Wednesday, according to AAA . That was down from $3.90 a gallon a month ago but up from $3.19 at the same time last year. Gas prices peaked at just […]