Friday, June 1, 2007

Gasoline Prices Drop

From This Week in Petroleum:

After four consecutive weekly increases, the U.S. average retail price for regular gasoline declined 0.9 cent to 320.9 cents per gallon as of May 28, 2007, 34.2 cents per gallon higher than this time last year. However, prices were mixed across the regions. East Coast and Rocky Mountain prices increased, with East Coast prices up 0.1 cent to 309.8 cents per gallon and Rocky Mountain prices up 1.1 cents per gallon to reach 327.6 cents per gallon. In the Midwest, prices declined 0.6 cent to 332.0 cents per gallon, while prices for the Gulf Coast fell 2.5 cents to 306.7 cents per gallon. West Coast prices were down 2.3 cents to 334.9 cents per gallon. The average price for regular grade in California was down 2.9 cents to 340.7 cents per gallon, but remains 14.1 cents per gallon above last year's price.


Here's a chart of gas prices from the report.

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While prices have dropped, notice they are higher than last year by a wide margin.

Production is finally kicking in and gasoline inventories appear to have turned the corner.

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This is a very tight situation. While gas production has obviously increased, we don't know if it will be enough to supply the market throughout the busy summer driving season. The situation is very touchy and will require constant monitoring.