Gasoline Prices

Those slowly swelling pump prices aren't done yet, energy analysts said, as crude oil futures jumped back above $70 a barrel Monday to close near the year's trading high. With the economy showing signs of life, energy costs are responding. Rising oil and fuel prices could damage U.S. and global economies at a particularly delicate time, economists warned.

California's drivers once again are spending more than $3 a gallon on average, the Energy Department said Monday, although analysts expect some relief from rising fuel prices after Labor Day. The average retail price of a gallon of regular gasoline in California climbed 14.4 cents over the last week to a new high for the year of $3.040. That topped the old mark of $3.005 set June 22, according to the Energy Department's weekly survey of filling stations. It was only the second time in 2009 that California prices averaged above $3 a gallon after setting a record of $4.588 in June 2008.

The average retail price of a gallon of regular gasoline edged slightly higher in California over the last week, the Energy Department said Monday. But analysts said it was a last-gasp, late-summer rise that would precede a drop of about 25 cents a gallon in the next few weeks. Prices already have begun dropping nationally, down a penny on average during the last week. Lower prices are on the way even though refineries in California have been running at as little as 70% of production capacity, they said.

While much of the rest of the nation gets a break on gasoline costs, California motorists are seeing pump prices rise to new highs for the year because of reduced fuel production by the state's refineries. And there's more to come, analysts predicted, with one estimating an additional 20 cents a gallon of running room before prices peak. California's average price for a gallon of regular gasoline rose 6.2 cents to $3.099 as of Monday, the Energy Department said Tuesday, a day late because of the Labor Day holiday.

The gap between what California motorists and the rest of the nation pay for retail gasoline widened again over the last week as pump prices rose throughout the state. Analysts said that the price jump was probably the result of low production and tight supplies. The average cost of a gallon of regular gasoline in California climbed 5.4 cents to $3.153, the Energy Department said Monday. That set a high for the year for the second straight week and marked the fifth straight week that the state's prices have topped $3 a gallon.

The worst may be over for a while for California motorists as average gasoline prices declined for the second time in the last eight weeks, the Energy Department said Monday. That came on a day in which retail gasoline prices fell nationally for the sixth straight week and analysts predicted that oil could plummet to $35 a barrel before the end of the year. The average price of a gallon of regular gasoline in California hit $3.14, down 1.3 cents, according to the Energy Information Administration's weekly survey of filling stations.

A three-hour fire at the Tesoro oil refinery in Wilmington pushed wholesale gasoline prices up almost 21 cents a gallon Friday. Retail prices were expected to rise by a nickel or more in the coming days, depending on the amount of damage at the facility and the production declines that could result. As of Friday afternoon, the severity of the fire was still being assessed and the refinery was operating at reduced levels, Tesoro officials said. "Before this fire, the price was about to drop like a rock," said Tom Kloza, chief oil analyst for the Oil Price Information Service in New Jersey.

Gasoline prices around the state shrugged off two refinery fires Friday to fall for the second straight week, a federal report showed Monday. Analysts predicted that more price breaks were on the way. The average price of a gallon of regular gasoline in California fell 4.2 cents during the last week to $3.098, which was 57.2 cents below the same week a year earlier, according to the Energy Department's weekly survey of filling stations. That was despite a lack of fresh news regarding the status of Tesoro Corp.

Retail gasoline prices in California fell for the second straight week, the Energy Department said Monday, as refineries increased production. The national average also dropped for the eighth straight week. The average price of a gallon of regular gasoline in California declined 2.9 cents to $3.069, two weeks after hitting its high for the year at $3.153. California refineries were producing more than 6.4 million barrels of gasoline a week, or as much as 380,000 barrels a week more than they were in August, according to California Energy Commission statistics.

Gasoline prices were down this week, but behind the scenes some economists are worried that a jump in the price of crude oil could slow the recovery. Average pump prices in California fell for the fourth straight week, according to the Energy Department's weekly survey of filling stations. But with oil futures inching toward $75 a barrel, analysts said the retail gasoline declines may be very short-lived. Oil futures have bounced between $65 and $75 a barrel for several months, but now it looks as though prices may soon go higher.