Gas costs go higher despite low oil price

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — Oil prices plummeted below $36 Wednesday on more evidence that U.S. storage facilities are bulging with unused crude.Light, sweet crude for March delivery fell $1.99 to settle at $35.94 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

But gasoline futures soared on Nymex when a report showed that U.S. inventories had declined by 2.6 million barrels, surprising traders who expected stockpiles to grow by 900,000 barrels.

Prices at the pump rose again Wednesday, and the Energy Information Administration report spelled out some of the reasons why. Refiners took in 214,000 fewer barrels of crude last week and gasoline production fell, the EIA reported.

The companies that own refineries have slashed production, and there is less gas on the market.