May 23, 2008, 10:35AM
Stash some cash for gas money this weekend
$3.70 is the area average, but it will likely jump again
By BRETT CLANTON
Copyright 2008 Houston Chronicle
<!-- rbox goes here --><!-- rbox ends here --><!-- Mille Photo Reference Type: image ID: a0523gaspoe Width: 150 Credit: Caption: end of Photo --><!-- Mille Photo Reference Type: image ID: 8420606 Width: 150 Credit: ERIC KAYNE CHRONICLE Caption: UP AND UP Tony Saldivar updates the price of diesel at a Houston Texaco on Thursday. end of Photo -->Hitting the road for Memorial Day weekend? Pack an extra bag. You might need it to haul your gas money.
After breaking records almost daily in recent weeks, gas prices nationwide are closing in on $4 a gallon, and experts say they are likely to keep rising as record crude oil prices filter through to the pump.
National gasoline prices easily could reach $4.20 a gallon in coming days as Americans take to the roads in droves for Memorial Day weekend, said Kenneth Medlock III, a fellow in energy studies at Rice University's Baker Institute.
Even if the price doesn't hit that mark, crude prices are likely to drive gasoline prices at least slightly higher than they are now.
And pump prices this holiday weekend could approach what motorists will see over the Fourth of July — historically the summer's price peak, said Darin Newsom, a commodity analyst with DTN in Omaha, Neb.
"While I don't know that we're quite as high as we're going to be this summer, we're getting awfully close," Newsom said.
Today, the national average price for regular unleaded was nearly $3.88 a gallon, up more than 4.4 cents from Thursday and up 65 cents from a year ago, according to the Daily Fuel Gauge Report by AAA and the Oil Price Information Service. It was the 16th day in a row prices hit a record.
In Houston, the average price for regular stood at $3.70, up 66 cents from this point last year, the report said.
It's that time of year
It's not unusual for gas prices to rise ahead of Memorial Day weekend as the summer vacation season gets under way and refiners begin passing along costs of more expensive summer gasoline blends.
But with prices above $3 a gallon and the economy slowing, Americans have not been pumping as much gas as they normally would this time of year.
Last week, AAA said Americans plan to drive less this Memorial Day weekend than they did the year before. That hasn't happened since 2002, the motor club said.
"Historically, when we've seen high gas prices, we didn't see people change their behavior," AAA Texas spokeswoman Rose Rougeau said.
This year, the jump in gas prices has more to do with the recent sharp increase in crude oil prices than the typical seasonal factors, the Energy Department said.
Oil prices have been pushed up by higher demand in the developing world, the weaker dollar and concerns that investment in new production is not keeping pace with rising global energy needs.
Thursday, light, sweet crude broke $135 a barrel for the first time before settling down $2.36 at $130.81 in trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
A few years ago, the cost of crude represented about half the cost of a gallon of gasoline. Today, it accounts for 70 percent, and the price of oil has risen faster than U.S. refiners' ability to pass on the costs to consumers, said John Felmy, chief economist at the American Petroleum Institute, the industry's lead trade group.
"What's going on right now is that the cost of manufacturing these products has gone up, dramatically," Felmy said during a call this week with reporters.
Heading into June, the Energy Department said in a report this week, "we can expect gasoline prices to continue increasing if crude oil prices continue to climb."
$1.5 billion a day
Today, U.S. drivers are spending more than $1.5 billion a day on gasoline, almost triple what they spent in 2002, oil analyst Tom Kloza said.
"It's horrible," said Wendy Buehrer, as she filled up her Hyundai Santa Fe at a Texaco station at West Gray and San Jacinto.
Buehrer, 34, has seen her gas expenses soar, chiefly because of her daily 45-minute commute from Katy to her job with an offshore drilling company in southwest Houston.
Mark Cain, 50, a nightclub manager, said he's cut back on trips to visit friends in Austin. He said his Toyota Corolla and short drive to work have helped keep his gas costs in check, but he's paying more attention to his gas gauge, he said.
Meanwhile, Amy Sanghavi, a student at South Texas College of Law, said she is about to make a big life change.
Next week, she will park her Toyota Camry and start taking the light rail to school each day. The move, she figures, will save her up to $30 a week.
Stash some cash for gas money this weekend
$3.70 is the area average, but it will likely jump again
By BRETT CLANTON
Copyright 2008 Houston Chronicle
<!-- rbox goes here --><!-- rbox ends here --><!-- Mille Photo Reference Type: image ID: a0523gaspoe Width: 150 Credit: Caption: end of Photo --><!-- Mille Photo Reference Type: image ID: 8420606 Width: 150 Credit: ERIC KAYNE CHRONICLE Caption: UP AND UP Tony Saldivar updates the price of diesel at a Houston Texaco on Thursday. end of Photo -->Hitting the road for Memorial Day weekend? Pack an extra bag. You might need it to haul your gas money.
After breaking records almost daily in recent weeks, gas prices nationwide are closing in on $4 a gallon, and experts say they are likely to keep rising as record crude oil prices filter through to the pump.
National gasoline prices easily could reach $4.20 a gallon in coming days as Americans take to the roads in droves for Memorial Day weekend, said Kenneth Medlock III, a fellow in energy studies at Rice University's Baker Institute.
Even if the price doesn't hit that mark, crude prices are likely to drive gasoline prices at least slightly higher than they are now.
And pump prices this holiday weekend could approach what motorists will see over the Fourth of July — historically the summer's price peak, said Darin Newsom, a commodity analyst with DTN in Omaha, Neb.
"While I don't know that we're quite as high as we're going to be this summer, we're getting awfully close," Newsom said.
Today, the national average price for regular unleaded was nearly $3.88 a gallon, up more than 4.4 cents from Thursday and up 65 cents from a year ago, according to the Daily Fuel Gauge Report by AAA and the Oil Price Information Service. It was the 16th day in a row prices hit a record.
In Houston, the average price for regular stood at $3.70, up 66 cents from this point last year, the report said.
It's that time of year
It's not unusual for gas prices to rise ahead of Memorial Day weekend as the summer vacation season gets under way and refiners begin passing along costs of more expensive summer gasoline blends.
But with prices above $3 a gallon and the economy slowing, Americans have not been pumping as much gas as they normally would this time of year.
Last week, AAA said Americans plan to drive less this Memorial Day weekend than they did the year before. That hasn't happened since 2002, the motor club said.
"Historically, when we've seen high gas prices, we didn't see people change their behavior," AAA Texas spokeswoman Rose Rougeau said.
This year, the jump in gas prices has more to do with the recent sharp increase in crude oil prices than the typical seasonal factors, the Energy Department said.
Oil prices have been pushed up by higher demand in the developing world, the weaker dollar and concerns that investment in new production is not keeping pace with rising global energy needs.
Thursday, light, sweet crude broke $135 a barrel for the first time before settling down $2.36 at $130.81 in trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
A few years ago, the cost of crude represented about half the cost of a gallon of gasoline. Today, it accounts for 70 percent, and the price of oil has risen faster than U.S. refiners' ability to pass on the costs to consumers, said John Felmy, chief economist at the American Petroleum Institute, the industry's lead trade group.
"What's going on right now is that the cost of manufacturing these products has gone up, dramatically," Felmy said during a call this week with reporters.
Heading into June, the Energy Department said in a report this week, "we can expect gasoline prices to continue increasing if crude oil prices continue to climb."
$1.5 billion a day
Today, U.S. drivers are spending more than $1.5 billion a day on gasoline, almost triple what they spent in 2002, oil analyst Tom Kloza said.
"It's horrible," said Wendy Buehrer, as she filled up her Hyundai Santa Fe at a Texaco station at West Gray and San Jacinto.
Buehrer, 34, has seen her gas expenses soar, chiefly because of her daily 45-minute commute from Katy to her job with an offshore drilling company in southwest Houston.
Mark Cain, 50, a nightclub manager, said he's cut back on trips to visit friends in Austin. He said his Toyota Corolla and short drive to work have helped keep his gas costs in check, but he's paying more attention to his gas gauge, he said.
Meanwhile, Amy Sanghavi, a student at South Texas College of Law, said she is about to make a big life change.
Next week, she will park her Toyota Camry and start taking the light rail to school each day. The move, she figures, will save her up to $30 a week.
