AAA: Gas prices in 2011 highest ever
Motorists across the nation and in Virginia will have paid more, on average, for a gallon of self-serve regular gasoline in 2011 than ever before. With just three days left in the year, the national average price for gas in 2011 is close to $3.52 per gallon ,with Virginia’s average through today at a record high $3.41.
“As analysts look at everything from economic indicators and global developments to the most popular movies and photos of the year, motorists simply look at how they will continue to put gas in their cars in 2012,” said Martha Mitchell Meade, Manager of Public and Government Affairs for AAA Mid-Atlantic. “The average family in Virginia is predicted to have spent $4,544 on gas in 2011 as compared to $3,713 in 2010, an increase of $841 in just one year.”
While gas prices for the year are high, they have been dropping fairly steadily as the year draws to a close. Gas prices today in Virginia are 18 cents lower than they were on Nov. 1. Nationally prices are now 21 cents lower than the beginning of November.
Analyst Tom Kloza, chief oil analyst for the Oil Price Information Service, predicts that current lower prices will continue through the year’s end and into January when they will likely hit their lowest when demand is typically low. Kloza, however, predicts that prices could go up a full $1.00 from the lows in January as we head towards spring.
AAA: Gas prices highest ever at Christmas
The cost of gas is the lump of coal in motorists’ Christmas stockings this year, and although pump prices have declined of recent, consumers will still end up paying the highest ever price for gas at Christmas in history. The national average for regular grade dropped 4 cents from last week to $3.25 per gallon Friday. Prices are 15 cents below month ago prices. Just before Christmas 2010, the average price was $2.98 (27 cents lower) and $2.59 (66 cents lower) per gallon two Christmases ago in 2009.
Crude oil plunged to its lowest level in six weeks this week as industrial production declined for the first time since April in the U.S., the world’s largest oil-consuming country, and the strength of the U.S. dollar against the euro as the euro region’s ability to manage its debt troubles mounted. A strong U.S. dollar will suppress crude oil prices. Prices are down 5.3 percent since December 9, heading for a second weekly decline and the biggest since September 23. Crude is 3.1 percent higher this year after climbing 15 percent in 2010. Some analysts cautioned there could be further losses in store for crude, which would help to push gas prices further down. Crude oil closed down for the second straight week at $93.53 Friday. Read more
Gas prices continue spike
Ten-plus cents more – that’s how much more you’re paying for gas than you were a week ago.
“Prices are changing so rapidly, and filling station attendants are switching the price signs so quickly that it is causing the heads of consumers to spin. They are bewildered, upset, and alarmed by the sheer rapidity and velocity of rising gasoline prices,” said Martha M. Meade, AAA Mid-Atlantic’s manager of public and government affairs.
The increase over the past week is the second largest one-week increase in gas prices since 1990. Across the nation, the price of a gallon of unleaded regular soared to $3.39, compared to $3.19 a week ago today. Week-over-week, that’s a 20-cent increase in the national retail price average.
It’s now $3.29 a gallon in the Commonwealth, compared to $3.18 a week ago.
Expect prices to increase even more, soon. The upheaval at the pumps is occurring just as demand is increasing and as refiners are jump-starting the switchover from blending winter gasoline blends to costlier summer gasoline blends, in advance of the summer driving season. That alone would cause pump prices to increase.
Why are prices escalating so rapidly? Motorists are now paying a “panic premium” for their fuel purchases, Meade said, with uncertainty over political unrest in the Middle East pushing the panic button. Potential unrest is brewing from Oman (which produces 900,000 barrels a day) to Algeria (with a daily output of 1.3 million barrels a day). The spreading turmoil and disintegration could have the most profound impact on the chain of standing dominoes: Iran and Saudi Arabia, some traders fear. With an output of 3.7 million barrels a day, Iran is OPEC’s second-largest oil producer and the fourth-largest crude oil exporter in the world. There’s even anxiety and hand-wringing about Saudi Arabia, the biggest domino of all, which boasts one-fifth of the world’s proven oil reserves, with 9 million barrels a day.
Edited by Chris Graham. Chris can be reached at freepress2@ntelos.net.
Huge gas-price jump overnight
A quick news blurb courtesy AAA Mid-Atlantic: Gas prices hurtled overnight, up an average of six cents a gallon from Thursday.
The average price of a gallon of regular unleaded in Virginia went from $3.10 on Thursday to $3.16 this morning. A month ago today a gallon of regular unleaded in Virginia cost $3.02. A year ago, a gallon cost $2.59, according to AAA.
The one-day jump illustrates the correlation between pump prices and crude oil prices, AAA Mid-Atlantic spokesperson Windy Van Curen said.
“Although price jumps of this magnitude are highly unusual, when crude oil prices escalate as quickly as they have, this becomes more common and could become a pattern in the coming days,” Van Curen said.
Story by Chris Graham. Chris can be reached at freepress2@ntelos.net.
Gas back to $3 a gallon mark in Virginia
If you haven’t already had to pay $3 a gallon or more at the pumps, get ready. The average price for a gallon of regular unleaded has hit the $3 mark statewide.
“This is the time of year when prices are typically at their lowest. It makes us wonder just how high prices will go in 2011,” AAA Mid-Atlantic spokesperson Martha Meade said Monday.
A gallon of regular unleaded cost Virginians on average $2.65 a year ago at this time. But prices have been steadily rising in recent weeks, following a national trend. The nationwide average hit $3 a gallon on Dec. 22.
Higher crude-oil prices and increased demand with the ongoing economic recovery are at the root of the spike in prices at the pump. Which means prices are only going to continue to see upward pressure as the recovery continues to take hold.
Crude oil closed at $88.03 a barrel on Friday. Analysts expect that price to pass the $100 mark at some point in 2011.
“The question on everyone’s mind is will we see pump prices rally to their second highest level in recorded history this spring,” Meade said. “Some market watchers and analysts fear this will be the case.”
Story by Chris Graham. Chris can be reached at freepress2@ntelos.net.
Gas prices headed to $3 a gallon?
Crude oil hit a 2010 high on Friday, and some analysts are suggesting that gas prices could follow suit and perhaps reach as high as $3 a gallon by Christmas.
The national average for a gallon of regular unleaded wouldn’t have far to go to get there. It was at $2.90 a gallon on Friday, 27 cents higher than a year ago at this time.
Crude oil was trading at $89.19 a barrel at the close of business on Friday, its highest mark since October 2008. The price of a barrel of crude was up 6.5 percent from the start of last week.
“With the holiday shopping season in full swing, motorists are undoubtedly unnerved by the recent increase in pump prices,” said Martha M. Meade, manager of public and government affairs for AAA Mid-Atlantic. “Increased gas prices, especially during the holiday season, cause motorists concern when digging deeper into their pockets to fill up their tanks, while at the same time begin to plan holiday travel and shopping expenses.”
Edited by Chris Graham. Chris can be reached at freepress2@ntelos.net.
Webb, Warner: Expedite development of offshore oil, gas
Staff Report
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U.S. Sens. Jim Webb and Mark R. Warner today called on the Secretary of the Interior to promptly commence steps to ensure that the Virginia Lease Sale, for the development of oil and gas resources off the coast of Virginia, remains on track for 2011.
“Support among Virginia’s political leadership for the development of oil and gas resources is strong,” the senators wrote in a joint letter to Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar. “If accomplished with a fair and equitable formula for sharing of revenues between the federal and state government, Lease Sale 220 will attract well-paying jobs to the Commonwealth to support a range of projects, from the transportation sector to coastal restoration. Further, it holds significant promise for boosting needed domestic energy production.”
In June 2008, Sen. Webb cosponsored legislation with then-Sen. John Warner to allow the Commonwealth to conduct energy exploration activities in the Outer Continental Shelf, with revenue-sharing provisions. “We believe the time has come for implementing the intent of the legislation by going forward with Lease Sale 220 in a more expedited manner,” wrote Sens. Webb and Mark Warner today in their letter.
