Exceeding the $4 Threshold

The futility of President Bush's visit to Saudi Arabia on Friday has been underscored by a new benchmark: $4 for a gallon of gasoline. The Lundberg Survey tallied 7,000 retail gasoline prices around the nation last week and found an average price of $3.79, up 17 cents in the last two weeks. In Chicago and on Long Island, prices reached $4 a gallon for the first time. And $4 could soon be the national average, she said. Gas consumption typically increases significantly after Memorial Day."The refinery margin on gasoline is so poor, I think the upward pressure on the refining margin will push up the price at the pump, even if crude oil does not," she told Reuters.Crude-oil prices continue to climb today, approaching $128 a barrel. On Friday, President Bush asked the Saudis to produce more oil. The Saudis say they have been pumping 300,000 barrels more a day in response to demand from buyers since early May, but that increase is not expected to have any impact on prices. Here is a snapshot of gasoline prices in some other markets, from CNN:
Tucson, Arizona: $3.48 a gallon
Denver, Colorado: $3.64
Houston, Texas: $3.65
Minneapolis, Minnesota: $3.71
Portland, Oregon: $3.77
Atlanta, Georgia: $3.78
Washington, D.C.: $3.82
Hartford, Connecticut: $3.98
San Francisco, California: $3.98

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