By Denise Richardson
ONEONTA _ The rise in gasoline prices this month wasn't surprising, said three area residents at local stations where prices Thursday were $1.93 a gallon for regular unleaded gas.
They said they hope prices will level off at about $2 a gallon, and a spokesman for AAA projected the peak at $2.25 to $2.50 a gallon this year.
``We should enjoy it while we can,'' said Ed Welsh, regional general manager of AAA New York in Utica. ``We have seen the bottom of the prices _ but the bottom should have been lower.''
Gasoline prices per gallon of regular Thursday at some area stations ranged from $1.93 to $2.03.
On average in New York state on Thursday, a gallon of regular gas cost $1.98, according to AAA. That price was about 7.6 percent higher than $1.84 a month ago and 39 percent lower than the $3.26 price a year ago. The record price was $4.31 per gallon in July.
Nationally, Thursday's $1.84 per gallon average for regular was up 13.6 percent from $1.62 a month ago, but down 38 percent from $2.98 a year ago, AAA said. The record high was $4.11 in July, though prices were up to 10 cents higher in the AAA's Albany-Schenectady-Troy and Binghamton regions.
Americans have been driving less, which should have resulted in lower prices as demand dropped, Welsh said. But oil producers went ahead with the idea of making money while they could, he said, and prices will rise up to $2.50 unless a shattering world event develops.
The ailing economy has led to unprecedented declines in energy consumption by consumers, as manufacturers slash production and cut energy use, and people fly less often than in recent years, The Associated Press reported Thursday.
Storage tanks in the United States have more than 338.9 million barrels of crude oil, up from 15.7 percent from a year ago, according to the Energy Information Administration, the AP reported. But gasoline futures jumped 4 percent Thursday, with a strike looming at refineries along the Gulf Coast.
Oil moves lower,
but not pump prices
Meanwhile, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries said it would slash production again to reduce crude inventories around the world, the AP reported, but pledges of production cuts have had little effect on oil prices, with demand, not supply, ruling the market.
Crude was nearly $150 per barrel last summer, but has held around $40 since the beginning of the year. Light, sweet crude for March delivery fell 72 cents to settle at $41.44 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange on Thursday.
Meanwhile, gasoline prices are rising.
``OPEC has us right where they want us,'' said Ed Deleski Jr., a retiree from South New Berlin.
Last spring, he went on a road trip to the West Coast and covered 9,568 miles in 23 states. Regular gas cost $3.60 when he left, he said, and it rose to more than $5 a gallon in California, prompting him to shop for lower prices.
``I'd like to see it top out at $2,'' Deleski said Thursday at the Southside Hess station before filling his pickup truck and three gas cans to fuel his farm tractor at home.
About $1.75 per gallon would be better, but $2 isn't bad, said Chad Mattice of Stamford, who stopped at the Southside Quickway on Thursday.
High prices of gasoline last year prompted him to consolidate his trips, Mattice said, and he had expected prices to rebound after dropping in the past month.
The Federal Highway Administration in Washington, D.C., said America's trend of less driving started its second year in November, when vehicle miles traveled dropped the largest amount since monthly data estimates began in 1971, according to a media release issued this month.
The 13-month trend of declining driving _ from November 2007 through November 2008 _ reflects a drop of more than 112 billion vehicle miles traveled, compared with a 49.9 billion VMT decline of the 1970s, a decade characterized by high gas prices, fuel shortages and a recession, the FHA said.
Chris German of Worcester also said this month's rising price for gasoline wasn't surprising.
``It got so low so quick, I don't think the expectation was that it would stay for any length of time,'' German said. ``Going back up is kind of a balancing act.''
German, a former chef who works several part-time jobs, said there has been a lot of speculation on the cost of a barrel of oil and questions about whether the lower cost was reflected in gas prices. He said state taxes and profits margins played a role in the price competitions at stations he saw while driving to Sharon, Richfield Springs, Oneonta, Davenport and Worcester last year.
German said the Price Chopper gasoline rebate card has helped his household budget, saving him money on his gasoline bill and increasing his grocery shopping options.
``You've got to eat,'' he said, ``and you've got to have gasoline.''
___
Denise Richardson can be reached at 432-1000 or (800) 721-1000, ext. 213, or at. drichardson@thedailystar.com.
