03/04/2005
Motorists could see a sizeable jump in prices at the pump in the near future, thanks to a tight oil supply and gasoline futures hitting an all-time high.
Currently the average pump price for self-serve gas is $1.92 a gallon, coming in about 13 cents below May 2004’s all-time record high of $2.064 per gallon, according to the American Automobile Association.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, wholesale futures prices closed at a record $1.125 a gallon, exceeding prices reached during the Persian Gulf War. Gasoline futures serve as a prime indicator of where prices are headed.
Also, Thursday, light, sweet crude oil for April delivery traded as high as $55.20 a barrel in New York, finally closing at $53.57 for the day. The head of the Organization for Petroleum Exporting Countries has said crude could get as high as $80 per barrel, MSNBC reported.
The oil supply is feeling pressure from all sides because of colder weather, the falling value of the dollar and a tightly balanced supply-demand equilibrium.
And as warmer weather comes, and it becomes weekend road-trip season, there could be a further increase in demand, analysts said.
