Retail Pump Prices Continue To Rise With Crude Oil Prices

The national average price of gasoline increased 11-cents per gallon in the past week.The price at the pump is being driven by consistently rising crude oil and wholesale gasoline prices. On the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) crude oil closed Friday at $68.44 per barrel, an increase of more than $2 per barrel over last week and that increase came after falling from $70 per barrel reached in mid-day trading.

Wholesale gasoline prices have increased 140 percent since the December 24 low of 79- cents per gallon.In the past week, wholesale prices rose an average of 8.4-cents per gallon, according toRetail Fuel Watch. Consequently, retail pump prices in Florida and Tennessee increased 11-cents per gallon in the past week, while Georgia prices have increased 10-cents per gallon over the same period.As much as prices have increased this year, gasoline prices today remain about $1.40 less than the prices consumers paid one year ago.

Department of Energy data shows a slight decline in averageU.S.gasoline demand, measured by product supplied to the market. DOE data put the four-week average at about 9.175 million barrels per day, down 0.4 percent from a year ago.

“Some oil analysts expect the rally for crude oil to end within a few weeks somewhere between $70 and $80 per barrel and, if that happens, then retail gasoline prices could peak at about the same time.We don’t know when that might occur,” said Gregg Laskoski, managing director of public relations, AAA Auto Club South.“But, we believe a prolonged run-up in fuel prices is likely to instill consumer resistance in much the same way we saw last year and that’s obviously counter-productive to an economy trying to recover from recession.”