Experts: Gas Prices Might Go Up
By Carisa Jurgens, The Macon Telegraph, Ga.
Feb. 7–Macon’s gasoline prices are a full 20 cents lower than they were a year ago, but a recent spike in oil prices could continue to drive up prices at the pump, experts said.
Tuesday, prices in the city ranged from $2.03 a gallon for self-serve regular gasoline at the Shell station on Riverside Drive and the Citgo at the corner of Mercer University Drive and Pio Nono Avenue to $2.09 at the Chevron on Tom Hill Sr. Boulevard.
Nationally, the average gas price marked its first increase of the year this week, increasing to $2.19 on Monday for a gallon of self-serve regular, up 2.6 cents from the previous week, according to the Energy Department.
Andrew Lipow, a Houston, Texas-based oil industry consultant, said the higher prices reflected a sharp reversal in the price of crude oil in the past two weeks.
The cost of crude oil, responsible for about half the price of gasoline, began a long slide at the end of last year and by mid-January, the price was hovering around the $50-a-barrel mark. Since then, oil prices have rebounded and recently threatened to top $60.
“I know it’s bad news, but given that crude prices have rallied so much. … I’m not really expecting much more relief from this point on in gasoline prices,” Lipow said.
Fred Rozell, a gasoline analyst from the Oil Price Information Service, said gas prices likely are headed up.
Rozell predicts that gas prices will remain fairly steady until about March, when oil companies will switch fuel types in advance of the summer driving season. He said the oil companies may begin to worry there won’t be enough supply, triggering an increase of up to 30 percent in gas prices, a phenomena he calls “petronoia.”
Drivers stopping in Macon on Tuesday said they know that higher prices are coming.
“They’re OK now, but by summer they’ll be back up,” said Ron Hoffman, a resident of Powder Springs.
Some drivers said they aren’t affected much by the rise and fall of fuel prices.
Dale Washburn of Macon said prices don’t affect the way he buys gas.
“I’m not somebody who will sit in line or drive out of the way to save 3 cents a gallon,” he said. “For me, that’s not really productive.”
Washburn said he thinks the fluctuations in gas prices show the country’s dependence on foreign oil.
Gregg Laskoski, managing director of public relations for AAA Auto Club South, said foreign oil may play a role in price changes in the coming months, citing a statement released by OPEC a few days ago about its plans to reduce oil production by 500,000 barrels.
“That doesn’t necessarily mean they will,” Laskoski said.
OPEC said it would reduce production by 1.2 million barrels in November, but Laskoski said he has seen little follow-through since that statement was released.
He agrees with projections showing an increase in crude oil to $62 a barrel within the next two weeks.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
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