President Obama’s vulnerability may be showing.

The president’s approval rating dropped from 50 percent last month to 41 percent this month, the latest CBS News/New York Times poll results show, marking the lowest satisfaction with Obama’s performance in any CBS survey.

It seems that as gas prices rise, the president’s approval sinks — despite indications that the overall economy and job growth are improving. A report on the poll on cbsnews.com said gas prices rose 12 cents in two weeks.

“Understandably people are frustrated when gas prices are going up, and there are things we can do, but they're not going to … provide results overnight,” Obama told CBS Pittsburgh affiliate KDKA when asked whether he can do anything about gas prices.

And while it might be too early to speculate on what this means to his re-election chances, The New York Times story about the poll says the numbers put the president on “treacherous political ground.”

The Times article also credits setbacks in Afghanistan and the angst over a nuclear Iran as possible reasons for the drop in popularity. The poll was conducted from March 7 to 11.