Gasoline prices hit another high

Jolene Craig
PARKERSBURG ­ - Gasoline prices have soared to an all-time high as the price of crude oil continues to climb.

"The biggest factor in the price of gasoline is the price of crude oil," said Jan Vineyard, executive director of the West Virginia Oil Marketers and Grocers Association, also known as OMEGA WV.

On Tuesday, crude reached a record high of $109.72 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange before the Energy Department and International Energy Agency cut crude consumption forecasts for this year. With the forecast set, the price dropped to $108.75 a barrel, which is still a record.

That rise is reflected in the gasoline prices which have hit an average of $3.42 in the Parkersburg area, according to AAA's Daily Fuel Gauge Report.

Most filling stations in the area are selling regular unleaded at $3.49. The highest price average for the Parkersburg area was $3.30 on May 26, 2007, according to AAA.

The current national average is a record-breaking $3.26 while the average for West Virginia is $3.37 after jumping 5 cents overnight.

According to today's AAA Daily Fuel Gauge Report, the highest prices in the state are in the Charleston area where the price of a gallon of regular rose 8 cents in a 24-hour period to $3.43.

Every $1 rise in crude accounts for 2 or 3 cent rises in the price of a gallon, Vineyard said this morning.

The United States Energy Information Administration has released a report which states 58 percent of all gasoline sales goes to pay for crude oil, while 17 percent pays for refining and 15 percent goes to taxes.

It is anyone's guess as to where gas and oil will go.

Some analysts expect prices to moderate, while other predict oil to rise to $120 a barrel and higher.

With demand for gasoline expected to rise as warm weather arrives, analysts say pump prices could spike as high as $3.75 a gallon, regardless of what happens with oil prices. The Energy Department on Tuesday raised its forecast of how high prices will rise this spring by a dime to $3.50 a gallon.



The Associated Press contributed to this article.