Gas prices jumped nearly 3 cents Thursday to a new national record of nearly $3.65 a gallon, and some prices in Rome were even higher.
It’s widely expected the average price of gas will soon rise as high as $4. Motorists in many areas, including parts of California and Hawaii, are already paying that much or more.
Oil prices rose slightly to a new settlement record after a day of back and forth trading in the New York Stock Exchange. Diesel prices also rose, adding 0.9 cent to match a record national average of $4.251 a gallon.
At the pump, the average price of a gallon of regular gas nationwide rose 2.7 cents to a record $3.645, according to a survey of stations by AAA and the Oil Price Information Service.
Kendra Harris of Lindale has been feeling that pinch in her wallet.
She drives her son to and from her home to Rome Middle School daily, about a 20- to 30-minute trip.
“(Prices are) all about the same now … crazy anywhere you go,” Harris said. “I don’t even fill up anymore. I’ll put in about $20 or $30 at a time.”
Harris was filling her father’s car up at Kroger on Thursday afternoon, where unleaded fuel was $3.61 per gallon.
“Money is tight for everyone right now,” she added. “I don’t even want to know what it would cost to fill up my (Buick Century).”
Prices rose to a new record near $124 a barrel and will likely continue to increase.
“If oil prices go the way that pundits are expecting, there’s no way we’ll stay under $4 a gallon,” said Fadel Gheit, an analyst at Oppenheimer & Co. in New York.
Crude oil for June delivery rose 16 cents to reach a settlement record of $123.69 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange on Thursday.
Goldman Sachs analysts recently predicted prices will rise as high as $150 to $200 a barrel within two years. That forecast has driven much of oil’s gains in recent days.
“There is no reason why oil prices should be above $60,” Gheit said, noting that domestic crude supplies are at average levels, and that refineries are cutting gasoline production as high prices cut consumers demand for fuel. “The physical supplies do not justify the price, it just doesn’t make sense.”
Click here for our previous report titled "The Real Co$t of Gas."
Click here for more information about local gas prices.
Staff Writer Lindsay Field contributed to this report.
