| sd |
Today was quite a day for oil and gasoline prices. And from the looks of it, the worst may just be beginning.
A barrel of crude oil climbed a record $10.75 to close the trading session at a record high of $138.54. Are you beginning to sense a trend with the records?
Today’s jump was caused by two main factors: 1) the dollar falling sharply against most major currencies, specifically the Euro; and 2) the release of a forecast by a Morgan Stanley analyst which predicts crude oil will be trading at $150 a barrel by July 4.
This of course helped to push gasoline prices ever closer to the $4 mark. According to GasBuddy.com, the national average price of a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline is now up to $3.99. At this point, it appears the average American motorist will be paying over $4 a gallon come Monday morning’s commute.
Thirteen states and Washington, D.C. are now reporting average prices above $4 per gallon. Missouri currently has the lowest state-wide average price at nearly $3.75 per gallon.
And for the final kick in the pants? Today, America had its first state reporting a state-wide average price of over $5 a gallon.
As of late this afternoon, GasBuddy.com was showing the average price of gasoline in Alaska as $5.09 per gallon. While the price has since dropped to a more “reasonable” $4.83, it’s still pretty telling that enough people were reporting prices in excess of $5 that the average price ended up that high in the first place.
But, if you think this is bad, just wait until the International Energy Agency, a widely respected and independent source of energy information, releases a forecast showing global demand has outstripped global supplies. If (when?) that happens, today’s price increase will look pretty tiny.
{ 1 trackback }
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
$5 Gas is just around the corner…start budgeting for it. I wrote about this recently and I think we will get to $5 gas by the end of this year.
daaaaaaaaaaamn. glad i don’t live there anymore!! not that the s.f. bay area is much better. $4.59 for reg. unleaded at the chevron down the street. good thing i walk to work.
Oil will never go below $120 again. In 2010 oil will be over $250 a barrel and gas will be $10 a gallon. With that you will either buy a hybrid which will still be expensive to operate or ride your bike or take the public transit. I suggest to get a fuel additive that reduces fuel consumption by 18%. I found just a product and it works.
“Oil will never go below $120 again.”
Nice prediction – too bad it’s $67/barrel today. Why ya gotta be so pessimistic Ron?