NEW YORK – Lawn care operators should expect to be paying more at the pump during the upcoming spring and summer seasons. According to Associated Press writer Richard Valdmanis, "Record low U.S. gasoline inventories have pushed prices to nine-year highs ahead of the driving season, and analysts say a summer gasoline crisis will be averted only if the nation’s refineries can swiftly ramp up production."
In its monthly short-term energy outlook, the Energy Information Administration – the statistical agency of the Energy Department – forecast that "motorists can expect to pay about 20 cents per gallon more this driving season (April-September) than they did during the same period last year."
Gasoline rose more than 4 cents per gallon at the pump in the past three weeks due to unseasonably higher demand and a surge in crude oil prices. Over this past weekend, prices at self-service stations averaged $1.36 for regular unleaded gasoline, $1.46 for mid-grade and $1.54 for premium. Full-service prices were $1.67 for regular, $1.76 for mid-grade and $1.83 for premium.
The national average price on Feb. 11, including all grades and taxes, was $1.41 per gallon, up 4.29 cents, according to the Lundberg Survey of 10,000 stations nationwide. The average still is about a nickel per gallon off the all-time peak of about $1.46, recorded in November 1990.
Winter months generally see a drop in gasoline usage as drivers stay off the roads, but January’s demand was 5.5 percent higher than for the same period in 1999, analyst Trilby Lundberg said. That "speaks volumes, because January is the month when Americans consume the least gasoline," he stated.
Refineries and analysts are keeping a close eye on the situation. "The good thing is, when a crisis is predicted far enough in advance, the crisis seldom happens," said Ken Miller, oil analyst at Purvin & Gertz Inc. "Everyone knows how serious the situation is, and the last thing the refiners want is to run out of gasoline." The current depleted inventories add up to only about 28 days of U.S. gasoline consumption.