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U.S. ENERGY INFORMATION ADMINISTRATION Motorists Face Higher Labor Day Gasoline Prices Due to Stronger Crude Oil MarketsU.S. drivers will see average 1999 end-of-summer gasoline prices over 20 cents above last year's, mostly due to higher crude oil prices, according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA). The national average self-service cash price of regular gasoline on August 30, 1999, was $1.23 per gallon, 22 cents higher than a year ago, but 1 cent below Labor Day prices in 1997. The major cause behind the increase this year has been a sharp rise in world crude oil prices, brought on by growing global oil demand and by production discipline by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and other producing nations. The spot market price of West Texas Intermediate crude oil, a U.S. benchmark, is up more than $8 per barrel, equivalent to 19 cents per gallon, compared to a year ago. Last year's gasoline prices were the lowest for Labor Day in the 1990's, owing to a two-year decline in crude oil prices through 1997 and 1998. California consumers have seen even greater increases this year, due to a wave of refinery problems. The average price of regular gasoline in California is currently $1.50 per gallon, 35 cents higher than a year ago, but down more than 3 cents in the past 3 weeks, and nearly 13 cents below its April peak. After a string of incidents beginning in February, California refineries are finally returning to normal, leaving spot market prices in Los Angeles about 10 cents above those on the Gulf Coast. California retail prices are currently lagging recent sharp declines in spot prices, but as is usually the case with a price spike, they never rose as much as spot prices did during the spring and summer. Thanks to a general flattening of crude oil and wholesale gasoline prices in the past several weeks, retail gasoline prices may be at or near their peak for the year, barring a major change in world oil markets. Without significant changes in the underlying crude oil prices, gasoline prices typically reach their peak during the summer months, when demand is higher, and decline during the fall and winter. EIA's weekly gasoline price data are updated each Monday by 5:00 p.m., and are available by going to EIA's World Wide Web site (http://www.eia.doe.gov) and then selecting "Petroleum" or by going directly to: http://www.eia.doe.gov/oil_gas/petroleum/data_publications/weekly_retail_gasoline_prices/wrgp.html Weekly updates to the gasoline price data can be automatically sent via e-mail each Monday afternoon. To sign up for this service, go to http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/email/index.htm#petroleum and then select "Weekly Retail Gasoline Prices." The price data are also available on a prerecorded telephone hotline at (202) 586-6966 and in the publication Weekly Petroleum Status Report.
EIA Program Contact: John Cook, (202) 586-5214 EIA-99-20 Contact:
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