Oil Producers in for a 'Crude' Awakening

Comstock Images/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) -- Oil prices keep coming down.  Since the start of the month, the price of crude oil has dropped daily, falling to $96 a barrel Tuesday.

Analysts say it has to do with fears that the global economy is weakening, while the Saudis have boosted production.

That's the bad news.

The good news, at least for American consumers, is that the price of gasoline has dropped more than 17 cents since April 1, hitting $3.76 per gallon on average nationally Tuesday.  That's about 20 cents less than it was this time last year.

Meanwhile, the government is backing off predictions that gas will reach $4 a gallon by the summer and the Energy Department's Energy Information Administration says that gas prices could actually fall further from now through September, although $3 a gallon is probably unrealistic.

Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio

US Stock Markets End the Day Mixed; Gas Prices Lower

Hemera/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) -- It certainly wasn’t a stellar day on Wall Street, but the reaction to elections in Europe was rather muted.
 
The Dow closed down 29.74 points, while the S&P and NASDAQ ended the day up slightly.
 
Market watchers are speculating that Francois Hollande’s presidential win in France was widely expected, and the anti-austerity backlash isn’t exactly a surprise.   
 
Some investors are also hoping that a growth agenda to go with austerity measures may end up being a bit of good news for Europe.
 
That said, markets could be giving Hollande and the entire Eurozone leadership a reprieve to see how they deal with the latest chapter in the relentless economic crisis.

Meanwhile, the average price of a gallon of regular gas is $3.79, down 4 cents from a week ago, according to the Department of Energy.  This price is also down 18 cents from a year ago.

The most expensive gas in the country is on the West Coast, where the average price for a gallon of regular is $4.14. The least expensive gas is on the Gulf Coast, with the average price for a gallon of regular at $3.62.
 
Crude oil prices are also continuing their downward slide.  Oil settled at $97.94 in New York trading Monday, down 55 cents.  Worries about global growth seem to be pushing prices down.

Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio 

Gas Price Average Lower

Comstock Images/Thinkstock(WASHINGTON) -- The average price of a gallon of regular gas is $3.87, down a nickel from a week ago and down nearly a penny from a year ago, according to the Department of Energy.

So it now costs less than it did a year ago to fill up your tank of gas.

The price of gas in the U.S. is coming down because the worst-case scenarios that had been pushing crude oil higher have not come to pass, while worries about growth in Europe have worsened.

Denton Cinquegrana, executive editor with the Oil Price Information Service, says that a lot of the increase in prices was “based on an assumption that we are going to have logistical problems, so far none of that has been seen.”

Oil settled at $103.11 a barrel in New York trading Monday, down 77 cents.

Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio

Obama Seeks $52M, New Regs to Fight Oil Manipulation

Official White House Photo by Samantha Appleton(WASHINGTON) -- President Obama is asking Congress for $52 million in new federal funding to boost oversight of oil markets, increase penalties for price manipulators, and raise margin requirements to reduce market volatility.

The money would fund “more cops on the beat” at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), the agency tasked with regulating oil futures markets.  It would also provide “critical IT upgrades” to bring the agency up to speed with the latest technology traders use, officials say.

Obama also proposes a ten-fold increase in civil and criminal penalties for energy market manipulators, from $1 million to $10 million. And he wants to give the CFTC power to raise margin requirements in markets, and to share data more widely within government to look for patterns of misbehavior.

“We’re tackling issues of supply and demand, even as we’re looking at the long term, in terms of how we can structurally make ourselves less reliant on foreign oil,” Obama said in a statement from the Rose Garden. “We still need to work extra hard to protect consumers from factors that should not affect the price of a barrel of oil.”

“That includes doing everything we can to ensure that an irresponsible few aren’t able to hurt consumers by illegally rigging the energy markets for their own gain,” he said.

The White House wants to portray Obama as actively responding to high prices at the pump while shifting some of the blame to Wall Street traders.  The announcement was also aimed at drawing a contrast with the House Republican budget, which would slash funding for the CFTC and roll back regulations.

“We should strengthen protections for American consumers, not gut them,” Obama said.

Republicans called the president’s remarks nothing more than “gas price theater.”

“Today’s Rose Garden event is just another gimmick – a shiny object to distract from the fact that Obama doesn’t have a solution for gas prices,” said RNC spokeswoman Kirsten Kukowski.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell assailed Obama’s spending request on the chamber floor. “I guarantee you it won’t do a thing to lower the price of gas at the pump. It never has in the past. White House officials admit as much,” he said. “Why would it now?”

On a conference call with reporters ahead of Obama’s remarks, White House officials would not say definitively that alleged market manipulation was in fact contributing to higher prices.

Obama himself conceded that his proposals would not, by themselves, “bring gas prices down overnight.”

Republicans also point out Obama has touted similar initiatives several times before in what they say are attempts to grab headlines. The RNC circulated news wire reports from each of the past four years highlighting Obama pledges to “crack down on oil speculation” while voicing his concerns about the impact on prices.

Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio

Gas Prices Decline for Second Week

Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) -- Gas prices have shown signs of leveling off in the last two weeks, with the average price of gas down for the second week in a row.

The average price of a gallon of regular gas is $3.92, down nearly two cents from a week ago and up 8 cents from a year ago, according to the Department of Energy.

The most expensive gas in the country is on the West Coast, where the average price for a gallon of regular is $4.17.

The least expensive gas is in the Rocky Mountain and Gulf Coast regions, with the average price for a gallon of regular at $3.80.

Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio

Have Gas Prices Hit Their Spring Peak?

Jupiterimages/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) -- American motorists aren't out of the woods just yet, but something is happening that's putting less strain on consumers' pockets books.

It appears that rising gasoline prices, which were turning into a major election-year issue, have started to level off.

In March, for instance, prices rose 1.7 percent from the previous month when they climbed nearly four times faster -- six percent -- from January.

No one's celebrating just yet because the average price nationally for a gallon of gas is about $3.90, but that is down four cents from the week before.

Analysts say that the prospects of a crisis with Iran over oil seem to be ebbing, which helps to drive down the cost of crude oil.

The slowdown in gas costs is part of an overall trend with inflation easing across the board, giving consumers a little more money to spend, which boosts the economy.

Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio

High Gas Prices: Should You Blame Your Bank?

iStockphoto/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) -- Should you blame your bank for high gas prices? A new report out Tuesday says it’s not just supply and demand and Middle East politics that determine the price of a barrel of crude; Visa and MasterCard and the other card companies share some of the blame for the high price of gasoline, the report said.

The new report by the National Association of Convenience Stores says it’s those so-called swipe fees at gas stations.  That’s the fee that stores have to pay credit card companies every time a card is swiped. (Congress took aim at those fees for debit cards, but not credit cards.)  According to the report, when gasoline is $4 a gallon, about 7 cents of that can be blamed on swipe fees.  At $4.50 a gallon, the fee rises to 7.6 cents. That swipe fee, which is partly a percentage of the sales price, goes up with the price of gas.

In the grand scheme of things, swipe fees don’t represent a huge portion of the price.  By some estimates the recent jump in gasoline prices has added only an additional $30 a year to the average driver’s fuel bill.  But convenience stores, which sell a lot of gasoline, point out that folks will drive a great distance just to save a few cents a gallon. They also say that these hidden fees get passed on to every customer, even those paying cash,  because it’s a cost of doing business.

The credit card industry, as might be expected, begs to differ. In a statement, Ken Clayton, an executive vice president with the American Bankers Association, told ABC News, “Once again, the convenience store lobby wants something for nothing.  They want to continue enjoying the benefits of our nation’s payments system -- from lower costs to fraud prevention -- without paying for it or providing lower prices to their customer base.  This ‘report’ is really about convenience stores seeking government price controls that pad their bottom lines, leaving consumers to pick up the tab while they rack up additional profits.”

Jeff Leonard, the vice president of Industry Advocacy for the National Association of Convenience Stores, argues that the bankers’ group “isn’t taking into account the reality of gasoline retailing.” Lower swipe fees would get passed back to consumers, because the price at the pump is so competitive, he said.

“The goal is to lower the price of gasoline and get them in the store,” he added.

Clayton, of the banker’s association, points out that swipe fees are a small part of the retail price, “Gas prices are driven by Middle East instability, gas refinement costs, and the broader issues of supply and demand. It’s time the retail lobby recognizes that and stops making up arguments driven by their own self interest.”

As for consumers, they’re just glad prices seem to be inching down from the recent record highs.

Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio

Glitch Results in $1 Gas in Texas

Jupiterimages/Thinkstock(HOUSTON) -- The average price of gas in Texas is $3.83 per gallon according to GasBuddy.com, but some lucky drivers in Pasadena, Texas, only had to pay a dollar.

Monday night a computer problem at the Conoco station resulted in the abnormally low price and word of the cheap gas spread fast on social media.

Benito Cruz told ABC News Houston affiliate KTRK that he was able to fill up his car for a fourth of what he normally pays.

“I pumped my gas. I got it for ten dollars,” Cruz said. “Ten dollars to fill up my whole tank.”

Two of the station’s four pumps were selling gas for a dollar between 11:30 p.m. and about 1 a.m., Moiz Fnu, the manager of the station, told Fuel Fix. Fnu said once the problem was realized the pumps were immediately shut down, but not before a few dozen people were able to fill up their vehicles for a price that has not been seen in more than a decade.

Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio

Poll: High Gas Prices Not as Much of a Hardship as 2008

Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images(NEW YORK) -- Outside of Big Oil, no one is happy with the high cost of gasoline, but Americans seem to be coping with it better than during past fuel price spikes, according to a new ABC News/Washington Post poll.

With gas hovering close to the $4 a gallon mark on average nationally, 62 percent say it’s become a financial hardship with a third of that same group claiming it’s turned into a serious hardship for them. About 38 percent feel no financial hardship from increased prices at the pump

Four years ago, as prices peaked at $4.11 a gallon on average nationally during early July 2008, 77 percent of Americans reported a financial hardship with 51 percent saying it was serious.

Meanwhile, the overwhelming majority of survey respondents weren’t apt to blame President Obama for the price spikes, despite Republican efforts to do so. Twenty-one percent said the White House is responsible while 28 percent blame U.S. oil companies and 25 percent put the onus on foreign oil-producing countries.

Still, 62 percent disapprove of the president’s performance in trying to reverse the trend of higher gas costs.

Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio

Gas Price Average Settles Slightly Lower

iStockphoto/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) -- Gas prices have taken a breather from their steady climb since January of this year.

The average price of a gallon of regular gas is $3.939, down two-tenths of a penny from a week ago and up 15 cents from a year ago, according to the Department of Energy.

While gas prices may yet move a bit higher in coming weeks, analysts do not expect them to test the highs set in the summer of 2008.

Denton Cinquegrana, an editor with the Oil Price Information service, says that, barring a conflict in an oil-producing country, “we are probably in the seventh or eighth inning of this run-up in gas prices.”

The highest-ever weekly average price was $4.11 in July 2008, per Energy Department data going back to 1990.  Adjusted for inflation, that would be $4.35 in today’s dollars.

Meanwhile oil settled at $102.46 a barrel in New York trading Monday, down 85 cents.

Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio