U.S. average retail gasoline prices fell over the past two weeks to their lowest in six months but may rise again as the price of crude oil begins to creep higher and demand for gas returns, according to an industry analyst.
The national average for self-serve regular unleaded gas was $2.1330 per gallon on Dec. 2, down almost 11 cents per gallon in the past two weeks, according to the nationwide Lundberg survey of about 7,000 gas stations.
This marks the lowest level for gasoline prices since June 10, before prices shot upward over the summer and autumn. Gasoline hit its all-time high of $3.0117 per gallon on Sept. 9, after Hurricane Katrina sharply cut refining capacity.
Since then, the price of gasoline has fallen by 88 cents per gallon. But the series of declines may be at an end, warned survey editor Trilby Lundberg.
“I think it’s over,” said Lundberg, in a telephone interview. “The slightly higher crude oil prices combined with a recovery in gasoline demand is ending the retail gasoline price crash.”
U.S. crude futures rose 85 cents to close at $59.32 a barrel on Friday, as cold weather was forecast for the northeastern United States, stimulating energy demand for heating homes and businesses. Crude oil has risen more than $3 per barrel over the past two weeks.
The strengthening U.S. economy will also spur demand for gasoline, according to Lundberg, likely sending prices higher. On Wednesday, the Commerce Department said the U.S. economy expanded at a higher-than-expected 4.3 percent rate in the July-through-September quarter.
Wholesale prices of unbranded gasoline were already rising, Lundberg said, suggesting that “the price turnaround already seems to be in the works.”
