| Topic: |
Politics > Politics-USA |
| User: |
"*Harry Hope" |
| Date: |
09 Aug 2005 09:22:05 AM |
| Object: |
No sign of end to gasoline price increases. |
From The Baltimore Sun, 8/9/05:
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/printedition/bal-te.bz.gas09aug09,1,5330604,print.story?coll=bal-pe-asection&ctrack=1&cset=true
Experts see no sign of end to gasoline price increases
Across U.S., consumers feel pinch of supply, demand
By Meredith Cohn
Sun Staff
August 9, 2005
The end of the summer travel season traditionally brings relief at the
pump - but don't expect it this year.
"There seems to be no end in sight to high gasoline prices," said
Ragina Averella, spokeswoman for AAA Mid-Atlantic.
The average price of a gallon of regular gasoline in the United States
hit an all-time high, not adjusted for inflation, of almost $2.37 last
week.
Average gasoline prices rose almost 8 cents a gallon last week, the
U.S. Energy Department reported yesterday, and are up nearly 50 cents
since a year ago.
The wholesale price of a barrel of crude oil for September delivery
closed up nearly 3 percent, at $63.94, yesterday on the New York
Mercantile Exchange.
That was also a record, although not when adjusted for inflation.
Squeezed between high worldwide demand and disruptions from terrorism
threats, weather and refinery problems, gasoline prices continue to
shoot higher.
It costs about 25 percent more to fill up a vehicle than it did last
year.
Motorists have felt half-dollar jumps in gas prices over a matter of
months before - in 1999-2000 and 2002-2003.
And adjusted for inflation, the record for gas prices remains about
$80 a barrel and $3 a gallon, back in 1981.
But that's not much solace to consumers now.
AAA Mid-Atlantic reported that the average price for a gallon of
regular reached almost $2.40 yesterday in the Washington area.
Baltimore averaged above $2.36.
The cheapest gas in Maryland was in Salisbury on the Eastern Shore,
where a gallon of regular averaged $2.22.
If there is a retreat this fall, it will likely be small and
temporary, experts said.
Then gasoline prices, as well as the prices of natural gas and home
heating oil, are expected to shoot up as fuel is stockpiled for
winter, the season of highest demand.
"Basically, we're toast this year," said Frederic H. Murphy, professor
of management science at Temple University in Philadelphia and an
energy expert.
"When wholesale crude prices go up, we see it at the pump almost
immediately. In the fall, crude prices are going to go up, go down or
stay the same. In other words, no one knows. ...
"But they are probably more likely to go up because demands in the
U.S. and China aren't coming down."
Government and industry experts said yesterday's jump in oil prices
resulted from threats of terrorism at U.S. government buildings in
Saudi Arabia, the largest producer in the Organization of Petroleum
Exporting Countries.
The United States closed its embassy in the capital, Riyadh, and other
diplomatic locations on the news.
The buildings are expected to remain closed today.
The United States imports relatively little oil from Saudi Arabia, but
threats on any part of the system pinch the global market in general,
said Doug MacIntyre, a senior oil market analyst for the federal
Energy Information Administration, part of the Energy Department.
MacIntyre said the embassy closing and other events produce a
temporary blip.
But the longer-lasting hurricane season and refinery problems have
been causing more volatility in prices.
Last year, motorists saw no dip at the end of vacation season because
of hurricanes that battered Florida and the Gulf of Mexico region.
That could happen again this year, he said.
Further, with demand so high in the United States, and now China,
supplies are barely keeping up with demand.
The world is producing about 85 million barrels of crude oil a day and
using about 84 million barrels a day, a historically thin margin.
That thin cushion has made retail prices much more sensitive to
natural and man-made disruptions.
"There's almost no slack in the system for crude or for refineries, so
any disruption at a refinery or in a pipeline is going to have a
greater impact than usual on prices," MacIntyre said.
Rayola Dougher, manager of energy market issues for the American
Petroleum Institute, an industry group, predicted that a variety of
factors will affect prices in coming weeks.
Specifically, hurricanes that pummel the Gulf of Mexico, or even
threaten the area, lead producers there to shut down.
Worse, they can damage equipment or supply lines.
Refinery outages resulting from mechanical problems and fires over the
weekend in Texas and Pennsylvania didn't help, either.
Energy legislation signed by President Bush yesterday, which offers
subsidies to energy producers and drivers of hybrid vehicles, will do
nothing to alleviate gas prices at the pump in the short term.
AAA Mid-Atlantic recommends that consumers conserve fuel by running
errands in one trip, accelerating gently, obeying the speed limit and
keeping the gas cap on tightly.
It urges drivers to maintain proper tire pressure and avoid idling.
The group offers a searchable database on its Web site that allows
consumers to compare prices at 85,000 gas stations nationwide.
Among the cheapest in Baltimore was the West Franklin Street Citgo.
Carla Osorio, manager of the franchise in the 1200 block of W.
Franklin, said a gallon was now $2.38.
She raises the prices as the oil company instructs each morning.
And what's going to happen to the price there?
"I think it's going to keep going up," she said.
_____________________________________________________
Gotta take out a loan to fill up your gas tank these days, eh?
Harry
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| User: "Joshua Heard" |
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| Title: Re: No sign of end to gasoline price increases. |
09 Aug 2005 01:58:09 PM |
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Uh, shouldn't the liberals like this, since higher gas prices will lower
demand?
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| User: "Frank Pittel" |
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| Title: Re: No sign of end to gasoline price increases. |
09 Aug 2005 07:34:20 PM |
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In alt.politics.usa.republican Joshua Heard <jheard@nospammsn.com> wrote:
: Uh, shouldn't the liberals like this, since higher gas prices will lower
: demand?
The looney tune brain dead loser lib dems wanted to raise the tax on gas
to run up the price to $5 in the early '90s.
--
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Keep working millions on welfare depend on you
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| User: "Server 13" |
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| Title: Re: No sign of end to gasoline price increases. |
09 Aug 2005 03:25:56 PM |
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Joshua Heard wrote:
Uh, shouldn't the liberals like this, since higher gas prices will lower
demand?
lol What a complete dupe. Why did you even bother?
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