Crude sets closing record; gasoline at all-time average high at pump
NEW YORK - More gas and oil records were set yesterday as retail fuel prices struck new highs and crude settled above $127 for the first time, tightening the squeeze on drivers planning holiday road trips next weekend.
Light, sweet crude for June delivery jumped 76 cents to settle at a record $127.05 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Prices rallied at one point to within a nickel of Friday's record trading high near $128 a barrel.
Meanwhile, Americans are now paying an average of $3.79 for a gallon of regular gas, according to a survey by AAA and the Oil Price Information Service. Diesel, used to transport a wide range of goods, now costs $4.52 a gallon. Those prices, both records, are likely to keep rising, following crude's upward track.
A statewide survey by AAA Southern New England found an average price of $3.75 per gallon for self-serve, regular unleaded in Massachusetts. That compares with $3.68 a week ago, and marks the sixth consecutive week of higher prices.
"We're looking at $4 a gallon [for regular nationwide] once we get past Memorial Day and into June, given the oil prices we're seeing today," said Geoff Sundstrom, fuel price analyst at AAA.
Drivers in some parts of the country are already paying considerably more than the average. Pump prices in parts of California have been stuck above $4 a gallon for weeks now, although the statewide average is down to $3.96. Prices in Alaska and Connecticut are averaging just above $4 a gallon.
Those soaring prices - which compare with a national average of about $3.23 a year ago - are putting a strain on family finances and prompting some motorists to look for alternatives.
A report released Sunday showed retail prices topped an average $4 a gallon for the first time in two metropolitan areas: Chicago and New York's Long Island. The Lundberg Survey of 7,000 stations nationwide found the cheapest city to be Tucson, where a gallon of regular sold for $3.48 on average.
Oil prices shot higher yesterday on a report that the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries would not increase production before its next meeting Sept. 9. Algerian Energy Minister Chakib Khelil, the current OPEC president, was quoted in government newspaper El Moudjahid as saying that "current prices aren't linked to the law of supply and demand."
In other Nymex trading, heating oil futures fell 2.77 cents to settle at $3.68 a gallon. Gasoline futures rose 1.31 cents to settle at $3.24 a gallon. Natural gas futures sank 14 cents to settle at $10.927 per 1,000 cubic feet.
