Gasoline Prices

Until Monday, pump price expert Fred Rozell figured that California gasoline was headed down to $2.85 a gallon or lower. But that was before crude oil futures rose $1.08, or 1.3%, to settle at $79.61 -- their highest close in more than a year. Now Rozell says all bets are off in spite of several fundamentals, such as the facts that oil supplies are plentiful, demand remains weak and refiners have slashed production because motorists aren't driving enough to allow gasoline makers much of a profit.

Retail gasoline prices barely budged over the last week in California and around the nation, the Energy Department said Monday, but that was still enough to bump the U.S. average to its 2009 high. The average price of a gallon of regular gasoline in California was almost unchanged, rising just 0.2 cents to $2.987. California had been spared in the recent price rise around the nation because its refineries had already reined in production months ago, well ahead of similar moves by refineries in other parts of the U.S. The U.S. average rose 2 cents to $2.694 a gallon, topping the previous high of $2.691 set June 22, according to the Energy Department's weekly survey of filling stations.

The average U.S. price for self-serve regular gasoline rose 5.2 cents to $1.962 a gallon in the week ended Monday, a government report showed. Gasoline was down 40% from $3.259 a year earlier, according to a weekly report from the U.S. Energy Department. In California, the average price declined 0.8 cent to $2.154 a gallon, down 40% from $3.602 a year earlier. Prices were lowest in the Rocky Mountain region, where gasoline gained 4.5 cents to $1.864 a gallon. The highest price was in California.

The average U.S. pump price for self-serve regular gasoline rose 8.4 cents to $2.046 a gallon in the week that ended Monday, a government report showed. Gasoline was 38% lower than the $3.29 posted a year ago, according to a weekly survey of about 800 filling stations by the Energy Department. Prices were highest in California, where the average price jumped 9.4 cents to $2.248 a gallon. The average was lowest in the Rocky Mountain region at $1.937 a gallon, up 0.3 of a cent.

The average price of a gallon of self-serve regular gasoline in California rose 6 cents to $2.308 in the last week, the Energy Department said. Although the state's average price has been moving higher in recent weeks, it's still $1.38 cheaper than it was at this time last year. In most of the rest of the nation, gasoline prices eased a bit, bringing the national average down nearly a penny to $2.037 a gallon, the Energy Department said, based on a weekly survey of nearly 800 filling stations.

Gasoline prices are expected to be relatively low this summer, so motorists might want to take to the road despite the dismal economy if the federal government's projections hold. The Energy Information Administration said a gallon of regular gasoline is expected to average $2.23 during the April-through-September driving season, although it will probably fluctuate and could jump to more than $2.30 a gallon during the peak driving period in late summer. But that's still a bargain compared with last summer, when gasoline cost an average of $3.81 a gallon.

Exxon Mobil Corp. posted its lowest profit in more than five years Thursday after the global recession sapped energy demand, pulling down oil and gasoline prices. First-quarter net income fell 58% to $4.55 billion, or 92 cents a share, from $10.9 billion, or $2.02, a year earlier, the Irving, Texas, company said. Per-share profit was 3 cents lower than the average of analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg. The profit decline was Exxon Mobil's biggest since 2002. Revenue tumbled 45% to $64 billion as New York oil futures traded 56% lower than a year earlier, the biggest decline on record.