Gasoline prices rise for first time since July

NEW YORK (Reuters) – The average retail price of a gallon of gasoline in the United States cost about 6.5 cents more last week, rising for the first time since early July on the back of higher crude oil prices, an industry analyst said on Sunday.

…The most recent increase was due to a rise in crude oil prices ahead of this week’s OPEC meeting, but prices will likely remain steady in the coming weeks because there is still ample supply, Lundberg said.


“It is crude oil that ended the price slide at the pump and turned it upward,” Lundberg said. “The supports behind crude oil are world demand and OPEC, which is expected to retain its hard line with a no change in official output” at its September 11 meeting.

Threats to oil supplies, such as the recent al-Qaeda attacks in oil exporter Algeria, could also still affect the price of oil, Lundberg said, but she added it is normal for supply to ebb at this time of year as gasoline demand tends to fall after August and refineries begin to switch over to autumn and winter blends.

Reuters