Gas prices: 'We're on the verge of real relief'
James R. Healey, USA TODAY
"We're on the verge of real relief," says Tom Kloza, senior analyst at the Oil Price Information Service. "We need to bury, at least for now, the notion of $4 gasoline and the notion that we just keep marching higher."
Retail gasoline prices follow wholesale prices, and those have been dropping, he says.
Despite the one-week drop, EIA says the average price remains 34.2 cents higher than it was a year ago.
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Gasoline has zoomed lately because problems and unexpectedly lengthy maintenance at some U.S. refineries have tightened supplies of the fuel. That's happened just ahead of heavy demand from warm-weather vacation driving.
Kloza says the USA is beginning to catch up, refining and importing more gasoline than it's using.
If so, and the government's weekly inventory reports show a buildup of gasoline supplies, prices could drop even more.
Even a small tick down could bring a sigh of relief from motorists weary of $50-plus fill-ups. But AAA warns that any respite could be brief. "If last year is any indication, you could guess another increase this summer, because July and August are the busiest travel months. After July 4, we'll know better," says spokesman Mike Pina.
Kloza says the obvious ringer is hurricane season. Serious storms could damage refineries, as Hurricanes Katrina and Rita did in 2005. But, he notes, prices could drop significantly if such damaging storms don't materialize.
"We need some stability" for the pump price of gasoline to stay down, Kloza says.
EIA's weekly price report Tuesday showed the U.S. average down 0.9 of a cent the past week. Prices rose in the Rocky Mountain region and along the East Coast, but dropped everywhere else, EIA said.
Highest average: California, $3.407 despite a drop of 2.9 cents, EIA reported. Lowest: the Gulf Coast, $3.067 after falling 2.5 cents.