Gasoline Prices Rise For Fifth Week

WASHINGTON, Jan 13, 2003; Tom Doggett writing for Reuters reports that U.S. retail gasoline prices increased for the fifth week in a row to their highest level since late October, as high crude oil costs due to a prolonged workers strike in Venezuela were passed along to consumers at the pump, the Energy Department said on Monday.

The average price for regular unleaded gasoline rose 1 penny over the last week to $1.454 a gallon -- up 34 cents from a year ago -- based on a survey of more than 800 service stations by the department's Energy Information Administration.

The national price for cleaner-burning reformulated gasoline, which is sold at about one-third of the gas stations in metropolitan areas, increased 0.9 cents to $1.516 a gallon, EIA said.

The jump in gasoline prices reflected high crude oil costs, which were caused by a disruption in Venezuela's oil exports from a worker's strike. Venezuela is the fourth-largest oil supplier to the U.S. market.

The price of crude accounts for about 40 percent of the cost of a gallon of gasoline.

The West Coast had the most expensive regular unleaded gasoline over the last week, with the average weekly price in the region up 1.8 cents to $1.518 a gallon, EIA said.

The Gulf Coast states had the cheapest fuel, as the average price was down 0.2 cents to $1.399 a gallon.

Among cities, San Francisco kept its top spot in fuel costs, with the price up 3.2 cents to $1.791 a gallon. Houston again had the best deal at the pump, with the price down half a penny to $1.379 a gallon.

The report also showed gasoline prices were down 0.3 cents in New York City at $1.549, up 0.6 cents in Los Angeles at $1.533, up 3.1 cents in Chicago at $1.504 and down 0.3 cents in Denver at $1.449.

The biggest year-on-year change in city pump prices was in Los Angeles, where gasoline costs were up 43 cents a gallon from a year earlier.

Separately, the nationwide price for diesel fuel declined 2.3 cents to $1.478 a gallon, but was 32 cents higher from a year ago.

Truckers in New England paid the most for diesel fuel at $1.593 a gallon, up 2.8 cents from the prior week. The Rocky Mountain states had the cheapest diesel at $1.445 a gallon, down 1.5 cents.