By CLIFFORD KRAUSS
Crude oil and gasoline prices are inching up again.
Various factors combined Monday to lift the prices of crude oil and gasoline. Here, fuel is delivered to gas pumps in Lynnfield, Mass.
A combination of reasonably upbeat economic data, new tensions in oil-producing Nigeria and reports that China intends to build up its strategic reserves lifted crude prices to around $82 on Monday, about a $10 increase over the last month.
Prices at the pump have followed suit, with the average national price for a gallon of gasoline rising 5 cents in the last week.
“That’s a drag on the economy,” said Tom Kloza, chief oil analyst at the Oil Price Information Service, who estimated that consumers are paying just over $1 billion a day at the pump, about $250 million more than this time a year ago.
Mr. Kloza predicted that gasoline prices would top $3 a gallon between April and June as warm weather encourages more driving, before dropping to as low as $2.50 after the summer driving season. “We’re in the fourth or fifth inning of the typical end of winter, early spring rise in gasoline prices,” he added.
The New York Times
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