Consumers feel pinch of high gasoline prices

NEW YORK (Reuters)

“It’s putting a hole in my pocket,” said Javier Garcia of Bronx, New York, who noted that the cost of driving his sports utility vehicle has jumped in recent months.

“Every two days, I’ve got to spend $30 and that doesn’t fill it up,” he said. With a newborn baby to care for, Garcia, 43, said gasoline prices are eating into his food budget.

The jump in fuel prices comes on the back of a 50 percent spike in crude prices since the start of the year. Crude oil closed above $70 a barrel on Tuesday for the first time since November.

In May, AAA said gasoline prices would not exceed $2.50 a gallon this summer, but the spike in crude prices prompted it to revise its forecast to $2.75 a gallon.

Reuters