Phila.-area gas prices creeping up
The average for a gallon of regular no-lead was up 1 cent over the weekend in the five-county Philadelphia area, according to AAA Mid-Atlantic.
The average for a gallon of regular no-lead was up 1 cent over the weekend in the five-county Philadelphia area, according to AAA Mid-Atlantic.
The average there was $2.82. South Jersey's average was unchanged, at $2.62, after slipping up - and then down - 1 cent during the weekend.
The national average was up by 1 cent, to $2.79.
Diesel averages were up 2 cents, to $3.15, in the Philadelphia area; unchanged, at $2.82, in South Jersey; and unchanged, at $2.92, at the national level.
Prices at the pump have been increasing for weeks - up 6 cents in the Philly area, 13 cents in South Jersey and 17 cents in the nation overall.
As AAA noted, prices go up at this time every year, what the auto club refers to as the "spring driving season."
But the auto club also points to a steady increase in oil prices as affecting the pump price.
The trade group Oil Price Information Service joins the predictions that gas prices will exceed $3 a gallon between April and June, with warmer weather encouraging more driving, before decreasing to as low as $2.50 after the summer driving season.
Too, AAA points to a predicted very active Atlantic hurricane season that could affect the U.S. Gulf Coast and interrupt refining enough to affect pump prices.
Meanwhile, oil prices tumbled to near $79 a barrel, dragged down by a stronger dollar and increasing investor concerns about energy demand.
Energy prices fell across the board, with benchmark crude contracts for April delivery sliding $1.65 to $79.59 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Earlier, crude dipped as low as $79.16. It's been nearly two weeks since prices dropped below $80.
MF Global analyst Mike Fitzpatrick said, "A great deal of skepticism is creeping into the market about the sustainability of a market recovery," which has fueled concerns that consumers will keep their cars parked and watch their energy use closely.
Adding downward pressure to demand, Fitzpatrick said, energy markets have been hampered by a "slack demand season" as the heating season draws to a close and the summer driving season has not yet begun.