Government warns of late-summer gasoline price surge

CNN ^ | 8/13/03 | Reuters

[MatthewViti]

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- As the U.S. summer vacation season winds down, Americans face a surge in gasoline prices, the government warned on Wednesday.

Pump prices have increased 5.5 cents a gallon nationally over the last two weeks, the Energy Information Administration said in its weekly review of the oil market.

[scab4faa]

This bites..

I bet prices stay over 1.50 for now on.. It's funny how once the price goes up it never seems to go back down just seems to level off there until another "price increase happens".

[StatesEnemy]

It's funny how

Ya funny... a bit of irony... move on, nothing to see.

[MatthewViti]

yeah, what happened to all the Freepers who said we'd see a price drop after the war with Iraq?

[joesnuffy]

Winter is coming home heating oil will put the squeeze on diesel which in turn puts the squeeze on higher food costs..
Then the jerk auf politicans will want more property tax sales tax income tax and gas tax
At least the Saudis are making a nice steady buck out of their crude...
so maybe they wont feel compelled to pull their money out of the bond and stock markets eh?

[BushCountry]

Huh, this story was just release 2 hours ago?

NEW YORK - Oil prices plunged to their lowest settlement of the month Wednesday, after government and industry reports showed largely unexpected growth in U.S. crude oil inventories.

News that Iraqi crude oil has begun flowing to Turkey through the Kirkuk-Ceyhan pipeline increased the sense that crude supplies are on the rise, analysts said.

"Everybody knows the party's just about done now," said Bill O'Grady, analyst with A.G. Edwards.

September light, sweet crude futures on the New York Mercantile Exchange, which before Wednesday had risen 4.4 percent this month and have hovered around $32 a barrel since Aug. 1, fell $1.14 to settle at $30.78, the lowest settlement since July 31.

[Brian S]

Shall we lay down wagers as to when this dual pipe, 375 mile pipeline is blown to hell...again?

I say by a week from today, she's not delivering.

(and no, this is not part of the Pentagon terrorism wagering pool that has been "discontinued")

[BushCountry]

Read about the wagering pool, you will find out that it wasn't a stupid idea!!! It was actually a well thought out idea that made a lot of sense and should have been kept in place. Next, the situation in Iraq is improving greatly, I doubt the wells will be attacked.

Iraq is producing 1.3 million barrels a day. Iraq has begun signing contracts for sales of crude from its other main oil-producing region, in the south on the Persian Gulf.

Iraq's prewar production was 1.7 million barrels a day. The United States is very close to pre-war and by the start of next year production will be 3 million barrels per day.

[VOR78]

If I were Bush, you know what I'd do? I'd start dumping some of the US strategic oil reserve onto the market. The war is essentially over; there may be temporary setbacks in the oil flow from Iraq, but the situation in the rest of the region looks stable (well, as stable as the Middle East ever looks). Why not dump half a million barrels a day or more into the pipeline for a month or so? The possibly $.10-.25 drop in the price of a gallon of gasoline nationwide would be like yet another tax cut and add even more stimulus to the economy. And most importantly, it would give him yet a little more ammo against Dems who say he's not helping the economy enough.

[dalereed]

The price here went from $1.53 last week to $1.79 today!

[kellynla]

Well Matthew we pay probably pay the highest prices in America for gas in CA, the price for unleaded self serve which was the cheapest in CA was then at 2.49 six months ago is now 1.49 in Orange County. And I know some areas were paying 3 dollars and more last year. Although I think we should get FREE GAS for a year after winning the war in Iraq, I'll take that dollar a gallon drop and run with it. LOL

[kellynla]

BTW when adjusted for inflation the price we are paying for gas today is cheaper than it was twenty years ago.

[Brian S]

I'd start dumping some of the US strategic oil reserve onto the market...

Actually the US has been steadily adding to the oil reserve. Perhaps they have concerns we are not aware of. This article from a couple of days ago:

U.S. oil reserve soaks up supply

WASHINGTON -- Despite precariously low oil supplies, the government has been pumping millions of barrels into its emergency reserve, which some critics charge has contributed to a surge in crude prices and kept gasoline costs high.

The Energy Department discounts the impact of the purchases, almost 11 million barrels since the beginning of May. And energy economists and analysts are divided; some say many other factors are keeping prices high.

Nevertheless, Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., urged Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham this week to suspend the oil shipments into the Strategic Petroleum Reserve immediately, "until the price of oil falls from its current high levels and the private sector inventories increase."

He produced figures showing that while 11 million barrels of oil were being diverted from oil markets into the SPR, commercial inventories during the same period were declining by 10 million barrels.

"This administration's actions to fill the SPR regardless of the price of oil or the amount of oil available to the commercial sector is a major reason for these high (crude) prices," wrote Levin, senior Democrat on the Senate Governmental Affairs investigations subcommittee.

Energy Department spokesman Joe Davis said both Democrats and Republicans in Congress have made clear they want the strategic reserve, now at 611 million barrels, filled to its 700-million-barrel-capacity.

"The vast majority of Americans realize that ensuring the SPR is key to our energy and national security. That's why there is bipartisan support to fill the reserve," said Davis.

Critics, who note the administration suspended shipments to the reserve last winter because of the loss of Venezuelan oil and a looming war in Iraq, questioned the timing.

Commercial U.S. oil stocks have been at uncomfortable levels all year, putting upward pressure on prices.

While stocks rebounded slightly last week because of a boost in imports, they remained 37 million barrels, or nearly 12 percent, below the five-year average and 30 million barrels below what they were at the corresponding time a year ago, according to the DOE's Energy Information Administration.

Also, oil prices have been creeping higher to more than $30 a barrel, prompting gasoline prices to increase as well.

[CaptIsaacDavis]

DAMN IT! WE JUST INVADED ONE OF THE WORLD'S LARGEST OIL PRODUCERS, WHEN ARE WE GOING TO SEE THE "PEACE DIVIDEND" OF LOWER OIL PRICES?