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Average retail gas prices soar 19 cents
(Agencies)
Updated: 2005-04-11 13:14
Gas prices soared an average 19 cents in the past three weeks due to
lingering high crude oil prices, growing demand and higher refining costs, an
industry analyst said Sunday.
Gas prices are posted at a gas station in
Menlo Park, Calif., Saturday, April 9, 2005. The price of oil fell for the
fifth straight day Friday, ending the week about $4 per barrel lower than
it began. The selloff was triggered by a sharp drop in gasoline futures,
which posted an 11 percent decline on the week as government data pointed
to increased activity by refiners and rising supplies of crude oil.
[AP] |
The average retail price for all three
grades increased 18.95 cents to $2.32 per gallon between March 18 and Friday,
said Trilby Lundberg, who publishes the semimonthy Lundberg Survey of 7,000 gas
stations around the country.
The most popular grade, self-serve regular, was priced at $2.29 a gallon,
while customers paid $2.38 for midgrade. Premium averaged $2.48 a gallon for the
period.
Crude prices, which briefly reached $58 last week, are likely to stay above
$50 a barrel well into next year, Lundberg said.
"It's very possible that unless crude oil prices show another upsurge, then
gas prices may have hit their peak already or will soon," she said.
Last week, the Energy Department said it expects gasoline prices to average
$2.35 a gallon nationwide in May, the dawn of the heavy summer driving season.
The Energy Information Administration reported that gasoline demand for this
summer is projected to be 9.3 million barrels a day, up 1.8 percent over last
summer, and the highest on record.
The highest average gas price in the nation for regular unleaded was $2.62 a
gallon in Bakersfield. The lowest price was $2.06 in Newark,
N.J.
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