NEW YORK  — Energy prices increased Friday after the government said the economy was growing faster than expected.

The 5.7 percent annual growth rate in the fourth quarter was the fastest pace since 2003, according to the Commerce Department. The expansion, which was driven by a jump in exports and business spending on equipment and software, suggested a rise in energy consumption may be around the corner.

So far, however, that hasn't happened. The country is still burning less gasoline than a year ago, and its appetite for petroleum products has dropped for four straight weeks, the Energy Information Administration said Wednesday.

"This could be more of a warning signal," Michael Lynch, president of Strategic Energy & Economic Research, said of the EIA report. The economic growth rate is expected to cool off later this year, Lynch said, and "it's scary to think where oil demand will be then."

Benchmark crude for March delivery added 36 cents to $74 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. In London, Brent crude for March delivery increased 49 cents to $72.62 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.

At the pump, retail gasoline prices continued to slide, giving up a half penny overnight to a new national average of 2.685 a gallon, according to auto club AAA, Wright Express and Oil Price Information Service. Gasoline has been falling for more than two weeks, but a gallon of regular unleaded is still 6.2 cents more expensive than it was a month ago and 84.2 cents more expensive than the same time last year.

In other Nymex trading in February contracts, heating oil fell less than a penny to $1.918 a gallon and gasoline rose less than a penny to $1.9182 a gallon. The March contract for natural gas gained 9.7 cents to $5.235 per 1,000 cubic feet.

Associated Press writers Pablo Gorondi in Budapest, Hungary and Alex Kennedy in Singapore contributed to this report.

The Trucker staff can be reached to comment on this article at editor@thetrucker.com.