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Gas Price Jumps 4 Cents in 3 Days

Hurricane fears make oil traders jittery

By Joe Benton
ConsumerAffairs.com

September 7, 2007

• 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 ...

Gasoline prices are up by 4 cents in last three days, according to AAA, of Heathrow, Florida and the national average price for regular unleaded gasoline is sitting at $2.82 a gallon.

Most analysts are blaming the weather, as Hurricane Felix churns away in the Caribbean and drives up the price of crude oil.

Mid-grade and premium gasoline are both up 5 cents during the same time. Mid-grade unleaded is selling for an average of $3.00 a gallon and premium unleaded averages $3.11.

One month ago regular self serve gasoline sold for $2.82 a gallon and one year ago a gallon sold for $2.70.

The average price of regular gasoline is now above the $3 mark in 11 states -- Alaska, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota, Nebraska, Ohio, South Dakota and Wisconsin.

Drivers in St. Thomas, the Virgin Islands, are paying the highest average gasoline prices at $3.79 a gallon for regular unleaded. People in Blackwood, New Jersey are paying the lowest price at $2.37 a gallon.

Here is a look at some prices from around the country in the weekly ConsumerAffairs.com Gas price Round Up:

California: Gas prices have increased slightly in the past week, with small increases over the holiday weekend shifting the nearly four month long trend of gas price decreases, according to the Automobile Club of Southern California.

The average price of self-serve regular gasoline in the Los Angeles-Long Beach area is $2.77, which is 3.2 cents higher than last week, 22 cents below last month, and 30 cents under last year.

On the Central Coast, the average price is $2.98, up 1.2 cents from last week, 23 cents under last month, and 33 cents below last year.

In the Inland Empire, the average price is $2.77, 3.6 cents more than last week, 18 cents under last month, and 30 cents cheaper than last year.

Auto Club spokesperson Carol Thorp said that almost all gas stations in the Southland had regular unleaded prices well under $3 a gallon this week.

Texas: Retail gasoline prices rebounded upward statewide this week with the average price of regular self-serve across the state climbing 2 cents from last week to $2.69 per gallon, according to the AAA Texas gas price survey.

"Now that the summer driving season is over and the seasonal, cleaner fuel requirements will be ending in many locations, refiners should begin to have an easier time supplying fuel," said auto club spokeswoman Rose Rougeau. "Consumers will have to wait and see if that translates into lower prices at the pumps."

Amarillo remained the Texas city with the most expensive gas. It's average price rose 4 cents to $2.97. Houston had the cheapest gas this week at $2.59 per gallon. That's virtually unchanged from last week.

Michigan: Gasoline prices are 37 cents higher than the national average of $2.82 a gallon, yet at least one expert cannot point to any obvious reason for the disparity.

“On the surface, it does not seem justified,” said Jim Rink, a spokesman for AAA Michigan in Dearborn. “The only thing I am aware of is the latest inventory report that shows inventories at low levels. But I cannot explain it.”

Michigan motorists are paying the third-highest prices for gasoline at $3.18 in America behind Hawaii at $3.23 and North Dakota at $3.19..

Michigan is dependent on outside sources of fuel, particularly from the Gulf Coast region, and that being at the end of the pipeline system typically adds a premium to the price of gasoline.

Florida: All of those falling gas prices motorists have been enjoying over the past few weeks are about to come to an end, according to AAA.

AAA reports prices in Florida, Georgia and Tennessee have already increased slightly over the past few days.

The culprit: Hurricane Felix.

"Crude oil is trading at a four-week high over the possibility that Hurricane Felix -- now in the Caribbean -- could threaten oil infrastructure in the Gulf of Mexico. However, if Felix diminishes or moves away from the Gulf, both crude and retail fuel prices could drop," says Randy Bly, director of community relations for AAA Auto club South.

Gas prices for self-serve regular in Florida currently averages $2.73, up from $2.71 a week ago. In Jacksonville, self-serve regular currently is $2.73.

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