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Gasoline Prices Remain High, Oil Above $70 a Barrel

By Joe Benton
ConsumerAffairs.com

May 5, 2006

• Gas Prices Fall Below $2 a Gallon • Oil and Gas Supplies Rise • Gas Prices Accelerate Their Decline • Gasoline Prices Down 19 Cents in a Week • Charlotte Gas Stations Make Refunds to Consumers • Oil Snaps Back As Markets Sense Post-Election Bounce • Gas Prices Settle Still Lower for Weekend • Gasoline Prices Keep Falling • Gas Below $3 Nationwide • Average Gas Price Down to Nearly $3 a Gallon • Gas Prices Drop, Along With Oil • Gas Prices Head Lower as Economy Slows • Gas Price Declines for 9 Days • Gas Prices Continue Downward Trend • Oil Prices Surge By Record $25 a Barrel • Gas Prices Drop for 5 Days • Price-Gouging Probes Spread to 6 States • Investigations of $5 Gas in North Carolina, Florida, and Virginia • Shortages, Price Hikes Follow Ike in Southeast • States Investigate Gasoline Price Gouging Claims • Pumping More U.S. Oil Won't Lower Prices, Consumer Group Says • Oil Prices Fall, Gas Prices Surge • Gas Prices Slide 8 Percent from Record --- • More ...

With international oil prices languishing above $70 a barrel, the news at gasoline pumps throughout the country is still horrible.

The national average for regular self-serve gasoline is $2.92. One month ago regular self-serve gasoline sold for $2.59 a gallon. One year ago a gallon of regular cost $2.21.

Hawaii still suffers from the highest state wide average price for gasoline at $3.38 a gallon. Montana enjoys the lowest average price at $2.70.

Some experts say prices will remain at their present levels until after Memorial Day when consumers may finally find some relief at the gasoline pump.

On Capitol Hill, Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman urged Congress to consider lifting the tariff on imported ethanol, as lawmakers scrambled to find a response to rising gasoline prices.

Support for lifting the tariff has bipartisan support as well as powerful opponents among farm-state lawmakers.

Pressure on Congress to do something is red hot. House Republican leaders planned to bring an energy bill to the floor each week until Memorial Day, the start of the summer driving season.

They will include a bill to drill for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska that has repeatedly failed to make it through Congress.

A group of Senate Republicans and Democrats introduced a bill to cut U.S. oil consumption by 2.5 million barrels a day by 2016, 7 million barrels a day by 2026 and 10 million barrels a day by 2031.

The United States currently uses about 21 million barrels of oil a day, with imports meeting about 60 percent of that demand and forecast to increase in the years ahead.

Democrats believe voter anger over soaring pump costs could help them wrestle majority control from Republicans over both chambers in the Congress during this November's mid-term elections.

Democrats in congress have introduced companion legislation in the Senate and House to repeal at least $28 billion in tax breaks and subsidies for oil and natural gas companies.

The Democrats would not allow the companies to write off some drilling costs, they would repeal an industry tax deduction of 50 percent the cost of building a new refinery and terminate royalty relief for oil and gas production in deep waters of the Gulf of Mexico.

The Democrats claim the tax breaks are no longer needed with oil companies earning record profits at the expense of drivers paying near-record gasoline prices.

Here is a look at some gasoline prices from around the country:

California: Gasoline prices hit new records this week and more increases are expected in the coming week because of a two-day spike in the local wholesale gas market, according to the Automobile Club of Southern California's Weekend Gas Watch.

The average price of self-serve regular gasoline in the Los Angeles-Long Beach area is $3.337, which is 14 cents higher than last week, 51 cents higher than last month and 75 cents higher than last year.

In San Diego, the price is $3.364 -- 15.1 cents above last week's price, 55 cents above last month and 78 cents above last year.

On the Central Coast, the average price is $3.418, up 14.6 cents from last week, 50 cents above than last month and 71 cents higher than last year.

In the Inland Empire, the average price is $3.372, up 14.7 cents from last week, 53 cents above last month and 77 cents higher than last year.

A growing number of companies throughout Los Angeles County are joining Metro's Transit Access Pass programs in efforts to help their employees beat the high price of gasoline.

"Motorists should brace for more increases at retail pumps due to a run-up in wholesale gas prices on Monday and Tuesday. In those two days wholesale prices jumped 37 cents," says Carol Thorp, a spokeswoman for the Automobile Club of Southern California.

"However, wholesale prices have started coming down. Also, in the past week, demand for gas has leveled out while domestic production is up more than 2 million barrels. Over the next couple of weeks, more gasoline is expected to enter the nation's supply and all of these factors should eventually put downward pressure on prices."

The lowest average price found in the AAA survey anywhere in California is in Modesto at $3.189, an increase of 8.6 cents since last week.

The highest average price is in Santa Barbara, now at $3.442, up 14.5 cents since last week.

Drivers are now paying more for gas in San Jose than in San Francisco, following another several days of increases at the pump that have left motorists stunned and fuming at forking over $3.32 a gallon.

Texas: Retail gasoline prices eased slightly after eight straight weeks of gains, according to the weekly AAA Texas gas price survey released today.

The survey showed regular, self-serve gasoline averaging $2.86 per gallon, down 2 cents from last week. The national average was $2.92 per gallon, about a penny less than last week.

Auto club spokeswoman Rose Rougeau said high crude oil costs and concerns over gas supplies because of a switch from MTBE blends to ethanol blends have both eased slightly.

"However, we still have to see whether these decreases are part of a longer-term trend," she said in a AAA Texas statement released today.

The lowest retail gasoline prices in Texas were found in Corpus Christi, where they averaged $2.75 per gallon. That was down 7.5 half cents from last week.

The costliest gas was in Dallas, where it averaged $2.94 cents per gallon, down 1.5 cents.

Arizona: The steady increase in prices at the pump has prompted Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano to call for a petition drive addressed to the federal government. Napolitano is demanding lawmakers and the White House take action on gas prices.

Napolitano says Arizonans constantly tell her they want to speak their minds. So she's giving them a voice in the form of a petition on her web site.

Napolitano says sign it and she'll send it to Washington. The Governor says, "We think Congress ought to work with the President on a comprehensive energy package that will result in lower fuel prices and provide incentives to companies to develop alternative fuels."

Oregon: Gasoline prices are staying above the psychological barrier of $3 a gallon for regular across much of Oregon. Most of the gas used in Oregon is piped or trucked from refineries in Canada and Washington state.

Industry experts say one reason for high prices is that two of the largest refineries in western Canada were down for maintenance. One is back up and the other should be soon.

In the Portland area TriMet reported a 4.5 percent jump in ridership on the MAX light-rail system during the first three weeks in April, compared with all of April 2005, said spokeswoman Peggy LaPoint. No current figures are available for the bus system, LaPoint said.

Gov. Ted Kulongoski and Attorney General Hardy Myers announced the creation of a web site Thursday for motorists to report evidence that might suggest unlawful pricing practices.

Pennsylvania: The highest price for a gallon of self-serve regular unleaded gasoline at local stations yesterday was $3.10 while the lowest price was $2.85.

The average price for regular self serve stands at $2.966.

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