'For the past x days/weeks/years/etc' normally suggests a time period extending up to the moment of speaking. It is therefore associated with the present perfect rather than the past.
1. Gas prices have risen sharply over the past few weeks.
2. Gas prices rose sharply over the past few weeks.
#1 is correct. Is #2 acceptable to native speakers?
#1 would be correct if has were changed to have.
#2: 'Over the past x days/weeks/years/etc' normally suggests a time period extending up to the moment of speaking. It is therefore associated with the present perfect rather than the past.