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Gas prices rising; expect them to stay high

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Wednesday, October 21, 2009

(Updated 9:08 am)

By Winston-Salem Journal

WINSTON-SALEM (MCT) — The average price of gasoline in the Triad jumped 14 cents in the past week — and it probably won't go back down anytime soon, experts say.

The average price of regular unleaded gas was $2.49 a gallon Tuesday, up 8 cents from last month's average of $2.41, according to AAA Carolinas. The record high in the Triad was $4.11 on Sept. 15, 2008.

In North Carolina, the average price was $2.52 a gallon yesterday, compared with $2.38 a week ago and $2.43 a month ago. The state record high was $4.09, reached Sept. 15, 2008.

Brendan Byrnes, a spokesman for AAA Carolinas, said that three factors are to blame for the spike.

* Investors are optimistic that the economy is turning around and that demand for gas will go back up.

* Refineries are shifting more of their resources to producing heating oil as opposed to gasoline, and forecasters are predicting a very cold winter this year.

* The recent weakness in the U.S. dollar has also affected the price of gas.

"Oil is traded in dollars, so when the dollar is weak, oil is seen as a good buy, and investors around the world pick up on it," Brynes said.

Crude prices have risen quickly this month. They reached $80.05 a barrel Tuesday before falling below $80 when the dollar went into positive territory against the euro. Benchmark crude for November delivery fell 52 cents to settle at $79.09 on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Mike Walden, an economics professor at N.C. State University, said that the high oil prices are in response to signs of improvement in the world economy, particularly in Asia.

"So it's demand driven or purchasing driven," he said. "We still have a problem with too much usage of oil compared to the supply. The reason oil prices went down so much during the worldwide recession is businesses cut back, consumers cut back and factories cut back. Now that some of that is resuming, you're going to see an upward climb in oil prices and that will definitely push up gas prices."

AAA Carolinas expects prices to keep going up, but not as sharply as they have the past week.

Brynes said it's hard to know what will happen over the holiday season.

"Thanksgiving is the biggest travel holiday in the U.S., so that may keep prices going up into November," he said.

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kurgun

October 21, 2009 - 10:13 am EDT

oh yes, here we go again, the roller coaster gas prices. So meanwhile we now rely on "Investors" to make decisions about how well the economy is doing. Clearly these so called "experts" have no idea what they're taking about. So now they are saying the harsh winter is shifting and people aren't buying gasoline so much, so when there is no demand for the fuel you just tell people "well noone is buying out precious gas so we'll just tell them we aren't producing oil because we're preparing for a harsh winter. A Harsh winter where? Here in the triad? When was the last time we had a harsh winter? like 1988, something tells me that's never going to happen again. I'm not buying it, if people now are unemployed and noone is buying gas, that's the reason for the increase in gas prices.

And now all the people with crappy low paying jobs continue to struggle with deciding what to buy all because of greedy oil corporations. I can't wait till the day all electric vehicles are officially out and noone ever buys gas again, I'm so fed up with oil, I would have been happy if they would just leave the gas prices at 1 price all year round, no up, no down, just the same price. Guess it just means that if you are an oil exec you will always enjoy your carefree existence and if you work anywhere else you will always be pissed off. That's life in America

coasterguy65

October 21, 2009 - 10:20 am EDT

Call it what they want the oil companies realized during and after Hurricane Katrina that they could make some serious profit when gas prices were above $2 a gallon, and even more when it is above $3 a gallon and they refuse to let it go back down to a normal price. What most people don't realize is that the economy is tied to the price of gas at the pump. When the gas price gets high people have to cut back somewhere else. Everyone needs gas to go to and from work. When gas prices drop people can free up some money to use on other things.

If you want proof just look at what happened when the gas companies jacked the price at the pump to over $4 the economy skidded to a halt when people were paying $100 to fill up a tank of gas. Some people claim that the cost of a gallon of gas is actually tied to the price of a barrel of oil and in some ways it is, but don't you wonder how the price of oil can go up over $80 a barrel and the next day gas at the pump has jumped $.10? That gas was refined months before and was sitting in the storage tank of the station when the price went up. How come when the price of oil drops down below $70 it takes weeks or months for the price at the pump to drop $.20?

Mark my works the gas companies will do everything they can to get prices at the pump over $3 again either by the holiday season or before next summer and see if the little bit of recovery in the economy doesn't end and we fall back into a recession.

jstevenh1952

October 21, 2009 - 4:50 pm EDT

As long as we purchase oil from foreign producers, we will be at their mercy. Face it folks we import 70% of what we need. If we don't cut our demand, increase our supply or shift to alternatives like natural gas (which we have more than anyone) we will allways be behind the eight ball.

Blaming "big oil" is good political rhetoric, but solves nothing. Prices are set buy those that own the oil folks, at last look I don't know of many "big oil" companies that have enough reserves to impact the price comapred to OPEC members and Russia.

Now I guess we could extend BHO's socialist policies into the oil companies, but heck we only have two or three really big players, the rest are foreign owned.

My advice until we get off the foreign oil tit, drive less, take the bus, buy a bike or scooter. Quit flapping you gums and protest with your wallet. Last check, I don't believe it is a consitutional right to cheap gas, buckos.