The price of a gallon of gasoline in the United States rose 11.49 cents over the past two weeks as profit margins for refiners and gasoline retailers increased, according to the nationwide Lundberg Survey.
The national average for a gallon of regular gasoline rose to $3.9297 on March 23, the survey of about 2,500 gasoline retailers in the continental United States found.
That was a smaller increase than the 12.31-cent rise in the previous survey, which covered the two weeks that ended March 9.
“Profit margins have been exceptionally narrow for quite some time and they have normalized,” survey editor Trilby Lundberg told Reuters. “Crude oil price hikes have found their way through to the pump.”
The benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude oil closed on Friday at 106.87, down slightly from the March 9 price of $107.40 a barrel.
Lundberg added it was difficult to predict which way gasoline prices would go, but said it would likely take another crude price increase to see a jump in costs at the pump, because the United States is currently sitting on a large cushion of excess refining capacity.
“If crude prices rise, gas will follow,” Lundberg said, adding that assurances from Saudi Arabia in the last week that it would boost output to meet any shortfall in supply, may have calmed nervous investors. “If crude prices do not jump, gas prices will peak soon, if they are not already peaking.”
Gas demand may finally be on the increase in the United States due to daylight savings time, which began on March 11, she added. With the extension of daylight hours removing the impediment of darkness for drivers, demand is somewhat more robust Lundberg said.
Among cities covered by the survey, the lowest average price was in Tulsa, Oklahoma, at $3.58 per gallon. Drivers in Chicago paid the most at $4.56 a gallon.
{Reuters/Matzav.com Newscenter}
Haven’t seen the Magic 5.00 yet. But the top grade at a station around the corner from me was 4.93 on Erev Shabbos! OUCH!!!
GAS will continue rising as Hashems plan is carried out
1)build up the hatred of the muslims-i.e. Bnei Yishmael, the last ones to fight klal yisroel before mashiach comes-against klal yisroel
2)get even Israel’s best friend-the USA-to go against them, by putting it in the hands of a muslim Obama.
3)get iran (GOG) to act on its nuclear plan R”L & the rest of the world join them (including the USA) into BRING MILCHEMES gog u’magos upon klal yisroel towards bringing Mashiach.
with a few other tragic steps between these that is all in Hashems hands & can still be erased if klal yisroel does teshuva before its time comes.
MAY THIS HAPPEN ASAP & MASHIACH COME ALREADY
So the refiners and retailers are making a mint? Seems to me that they’re the ones driving up the prices. If they were responding to real market forces their profit margins would stay the same, and they wouldn’t be laughing all the way to the bank (with our money).
The best way to respond to this is to cut demand – drive less, consolidate your trips, buy a more fuel-efficient car. Take the train/bus whenever you can and support public transportation in your area. Get a bike and ride it when the weather’s good (a fitness plus, too).
And don’t forget – we’re paying these guys big subsidies by way of interest groups lobbying the Federal government – while they clean our pockets out. Maybe we could take a significant bite out of the deficit by cutting subsidies to people like the oil companies that don’t need them. Otherwise we’re paying twice – once at the pump and once, via the IRS, through Congress.