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$2.21, and Rising: Gas prices are heading up on usual pre-summer climb
Journal photo by David Rolfe
These signs at Campus Gas station on Polo Road reflect the recent surge in gasoline prices in the Triad
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Published: May 15, 2009
Orlando Blowe has taken notice of rising gas prices in the Winston-Salem area.
"It was $1.90, and then it started going up," Blowe said as he pumped gas Wednesday at Campus Gas and Service on Polo Road, where regular unleaded was $2.23 a gallon. "I didn't think too much at first."
For Blowe, $1.90 was not close to the $4-a-gallon in summer 2008, and he knows that gas prices typically go up this time of year.
But, he said, once prices reach the $2 mark, people pay attention.
In the Triad yesterday, the average price of regular gas was $2.21 a gallon, according to the AAA Carolinas auto club. That is 2 cents higher than it was on Wednesday, 16 cents higher than a week ago and 21 cents higher than a month ago. A year ago, the price was $3.71.
The state average was $2.24 yesterday, up from $2.08 a week ago. A year ago, it was $3. 73.
Brendan Byrnes, a spokesman for AAA Carolinas, attributes the recent jump in prices to three factors:
First, the per-barrel price has been growing because of increased demand for oil from China and India.
"It increased last week nearly 10 percent and floated around the $60-per-barrel mark," Byrnes said.
The fact that China is the world's second-largest user of oil behind the United States, he said, is a key indicator for oil investors.
Yesterday, benchmark crude for June delivery rose 60 cents to settle at $58.62 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. In London, Brent prices dropped 64 cents to settle at $56.70 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.
Secondly, Byrnes said, the rise in gas prices is typical for this time of year when refineries prepare for the annual switch to summer gasoline blends,
Thirdly, consumer demand is expected to rise for Memorial Day. Nationally, AAA expects more Americans to travel on vacation this Memorial Day weekend. AAA Carolinas won't release its travel forecast for the holiday weekend until next week, but Byrnes said he expects prices to go up.
The auto club expects a high of $2.50 a gallon this summer.
"Last summer, we had a lot of supply issues, and that's part of the reason we jumped so high," Byrnes said. "But this year, the Department of Energy is reporting they've got a 19-year high of crude-oil stockpiles, so barring any unforeseen, tragic hurricane or what not, we should be fine."
■ Fran Daniel can be reached at 727-7366 or at fdaniel@wsjournal.com.
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