Gashostage.com

How fast do we forget?  Do you remember that only a few years ago our gas prices were half of what we they are today?  Do you remember last year when gas prices broke a new record high with the war and conflict in the Middle East?  I remember!  Gas prices soared and the people of North America complained bitterly.  We jumped on our government officials and demanded that they take action…. And they did.  Or at least they gave us lip service and pretended to care.  Now fast forward to today where gasoline prices have once again reached a new all time record and we have done nothing.

Last year the reasons for the price hikes were at best superficial and certainly not accurate.  This year, the prices have increased even though our stocks on gasoline are at an all time high, we sit and do nothing.

Is anyone else concerned that the price per liter or gallon of gas has increased for what appears to be no reason?  The current gas prices are not reflective of the market and it is criminal that the law makers have not jumped on this.  I like everyone else believes that we need to cut down on the driving we do, especially when we could walk or ride a bike, but to allow price gouging should never be allowed.

I think it is time we strike back and demand the government backs the people.  Why should a single mother who is struggling to pay the bills be forced to pay more than double what she should while fat cat oil companies continue to earn record PROFITS.  Something needs to be done!  We need to band together and force the politicians to take notice and help, and failing that, we need to come up with a strategy that will help us fight the rising price of fuel!

U.S. consumers are digging deeper in their pockets to fill up at the pump with the average price for gasoline now a record $3.10 a gallon, the government said on Monday.

The national price for regular unleaded gasoline rose 5 cents over the last week and is up 16 cents from a year ago, according to the U.S Energy Information Administration’s weekly survey of service stations.

The latest pump price tops the old record of $3.07 set in September 2005 after Hurricane Katrina disrupted refinery operations and oil production along the Gulf Coast, the EIA said.

The much larger AAA survey showed the price for gasoline at a record $3.07 on Monday.

Higher gasoline costs are cutting into consumer spending, which accounts for about two-thirds of U.S. economic growth.

The EIA has forecast the national gasoline price will stay at or near $3 a gallon for most of the summer, but will not come close to the $4 level that many consumers fear.

Energy experts say rising motor fuel costs reflect the temporary shutdown of several oil refineries, strong petroleum demand, militant attacks on Nigeria’s oil production and higher crude prices.

Guy Caruso, who heads the EIA, said that given the tight supply conditions, OPEC oil ministers needed to boost crude production this summer and not wait until their next planned meeting in September to decide whether to change oil output levels

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Gasoline prices hit a new record at the pump on Monday, but gas futures prices fell on concerns that $3 gas will crimp demand. Oil prices, meanwhile, rose on reports of refinery problems in the U.S. and abroad.

The average national price of a gallon of gas hit $3.073 on Monday, up almost a penny from Sunday’s also record-setting price, according to AAA and the Oil Price Information Service. Gasoline is now well above the previous record of $3.057, set on Sept. 5, 2005, soon after Hurricane Katrina.

But gasoline futures for June delivery fell 5.09 cents to settle at $2.3012 on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Light, sweet crude for June delivery rose 9 cents to settle at $62.46 a barrel on the Nymex.

Heating oil futures fell 1.55 cents to settle at $1.8668 per gallon on the Nymex, while natural gas prices gained 5.3 cents to settle at $7.952 per 1,000 cubic feet.

Brent crude for June settled unchanged at $66.83 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange in London.

Chip Hodge, energy portfolio manager at John Hancock Financial Securities, in Boston, thinks gasoline futures traders may be reacting psychologically to the fact that pump prices are setting new records.

“You just get a feeling that $3 a gallon. … It’s got to have an impact from a demand standpoint,” Hodge said. “So, maybe there’s a little bit of a selloff on those pressures.”

While oil prices rose on the day, they settled well off their earlier highs on news that Chevron Corp. plans to restart a 42,000 barrels-per-day Nigerian oil facility, said Phil Flynn, an analyst at Alaron Trading Corp. in Chicago.

“There was good news out of Nigeria after a lot of bad news,” Flynn said. “They’re pumping oil again.”

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