Prices stabilized over the July 4th holiday, but predictions of volatility over the summer were right on target -- a spike has occurred in less than a week.
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Many Ohio filling stations reset prices just before noon to $3.69 per gallon and to $3.79 by 1 p.m. --- more than 40 cents higher than average prices on Tuesday. CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Gasoline prices are going back up, right on time for the weekend.
Many Ohio filling stations reset prices just before noon to $3.69 per gallon and to $3.79 by 1 p.m. --- more than 40 cents higher than average prices on Monday.
The average price of regular gasoline at noon in Cleveland was $3.54 and rising rapidly, according to GasBuddy, the Internet-based price watchdog. By 6 p.m., the average price had risen to $3.60 per gallon, with a few stations posting $3.99. The national average price at 6 p.m. was $3.56 per gallon.
Thursday is often the day prices shoot up, said Patrick DeHaan, senior petroleum analyst for GasBuddy.
"The EIA (Energy Information Administration) report is every Wednesday, and if there is bad news, then boom, prices increase on Thursday," he said.
This time, it's not a refinery down, or a burst pipeline. It's that the EIA reported a 10 million barrel decline in U.S. petroleum storage levels over the last week, following a similar decline the week before.
The EIA also on Wednesday reported that gasoline inventories declined by 2.6 million barrels, contradicting expectations that supplies would increase by more than a million barrels over the week.
The EIA report, plus concerns about a political meltdown in Egypt embroiling the Middle East has markets nervous, DeHaan said.
The price of the best grade of U.S. oil jumped to $107.45 on Wednesday, the highest since March 2012. But by noon on Thursday, it had fallen below $105 on bad news about unemployment. It closed for the day at $104.06, potentially good news for consumers.
Chicago bulk wholesale gasoline prices for immediate delivery jumped about a nickel to $3.02 per gallon at noon today, DeHaan said.
That bulk wholesale price, which does not include 46 cents in road taxes, delivery fees or middleman charges, determines what filling stations will be paying on Friday and over the weekend.
Most analysts figure that the price at the pump for consumers will be about 60 cents to 70 cents over the bulk wholesale price.
GasBuddy's chief oil analyst Tom Kloza at the beginning of the week said gasoline prices would be volatile for the rest of the summer.
