An oil well near Tioga, N.D.(Photo: Karen Bleier, AFP/Getty Images)
Crude oil prices renewed their multi-month slide Wednesday, falling to 27-month lows in a move that's likely to continue pushing gasoline prices toward below $3 a gallon.
Benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude for mid-December delivery dropped 2.4% to $80.49 a barrel, a level not seen since June 2012. The slide came after the U.S. Energy Information Administration said crude oil supplies were at their highest levels since July. The unexpected rise in inventories comes at a time when post-summer travel demand continues to wane.
Wholesale gasoline futures for mid-November delivery fell 3% to $2.15 a gallon, a key signal for another fall in retail gas prices. Nationally, the price of regular unleaded gasoline is now $3.08 a gallon, down from $3.34 a gallon last month.
The bear market meltdown in oil prices - more than $25 a barrel from this year's June peak - could push the national average price of gas below $3 within the next week,'' says Tom Kloza, chief oil analyst for the Oil Price Information Service.
Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, Mississippi, New Jersey, New Mexico, Tennesse, Texas and Virginia already average sub-$3 gas.
While the slump in crude oil prices hurt shares of energy producing stocks and the broad market Wednesday - the Dow Jones industrial average snapped a three-day winning streak and ended off 153 points to 16,461 - lower gas prices means billions in savings for consumers.
"Every dollar we don't spend on gas makes a difference that will work its way through the economy,'' says John Fanchi, author of Energy in the 21st Century. -USA Today
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.