Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Gas prices locally are averaging $3.46 a gallon.
STAFF/WIRE REPORT
NEW YORK — Rising gasoline prices tightened the squeeze on drivers Monday, jumping to an average $3.50 a gallon at filling stations across the country.
Crude oil, meanwhile, set a new record of its own, spiking after an attack on a Japanese oil tanker in the Middle East to close above $117 a barrel for the first time.
“It’s killing us,” said Jean Beuns, a cabdriver in New York who estimated he is making $125 to $150 a month less than in the fall because of costlier fuel. “And it was so quick. Every day you see the price go up 5, 6, 10 cents more.”
In the Mahoning Valley, gas prices averaged $3.46 monday, the AAA said. The price was unchanged from the day before but 22 cents higher than a month earlier.
Diesel prices at the pump also struck a record high, of $4.20 a gallon, according to AAA and the Oil Price Information Service, putting pressure on truckers and other shippers who rely on the fuel to transport goods to market.
Prices are expected to keep climbing as they trace the path of crude, which has surged to new records for six trading sessions in a row.
Oil prices are rising along with a host of commodities, from corn and wheat to gold and platinum, that are enticing speculators seeking hedges against a weakening dollar.
Light, sweet crude for May delivery rose to a record $117.76 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange before settling at $117.48, up 79 cents from Friday’s close.
Nationally, retail gas prices jumped more than a nickel over the weekend, and are up 23 percent from a year earlier. Drivers are paying the lowest prices in New Jersey and the most in California, where a gallon of regular is now averaging $3.86 for a gallon.
For motorists, the worst may be still to come. That is because the summer driving season, when demand is at its greatest, has yet to begin.
“People want to drive; they need to drive; they have to go to their job,” said Samer Katib, manager of a Marathon station on Chicago’s South Side.
“But people who would drive around or go places for fun, they’re not doing that anymore. It’s just go to your work and go home.”
The Energy Department predicted earlier this month that monthly average gasoline price will peak at over $3.60 per gallon in June and could possibly reach the $4 threshold.
“It’s uncharted territory,” said Tom Kloza of the Oil Price Information Service, Wall, N.J. “I don’t think we’re done, but I have to believe we’re in the eighth or ninth inning” of price increases.