segunda-feira, 9 de junho de 2008

Gas price record above $4.02, oil slips

Gas prices set another record above $4.02 a gallon Monday, while crude oil prices eased following a massive spike in the previous session.

The national average price for a gallon of gasoline climbed to a record $4.023 a gallon, which is more than 10% higher than $3.692 a month ago and nearly 29% higher than the $3.091 average a year ago, according to the AAA figures.

The average price is $4 a gallon or more in 22 states and the District of Columbia, according to the survey. California pays the most for gasoline, averaging $4.45 a gallon, followed by Connecticut at $4.32 and Alaska at $4.30. Other states above $4 are Hawaii, Illinois, Massachusetts, Maine, Michigan, Nevada, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Washington and West Virginia.

Missouri has the lowest average price at $3.83, followed by South Carolina at $3.83.

Gasoline prices in the survey have risen for 32 of the past 34 days, setting records on 30 of those days.

The price of diesel fuel, used by truckers hauling goods across the country, rose 1.1 cent to $4.773 a gallon. That's just under 2 cents below the all-time high set May 30.

Meanwhile, light, sweet crude for July delivery fell $2.66 to $135.90 a barrel in pre-market trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

On Friday, the contract shot up nearly $11 - the largest single-day jump on record - to settle at a record $138.54 a barrel.

Friday's rally was fueled by a combination of geopolitical jitters, the dollar's decline and a report from Morgan Stanley predicting oil could reach $150 a barrel by July 4.

Last week's runup in crude prices helped push the Dow Jones industrial average down nearly 400 points Friday. Many investors see higher gas prices crimping household budgets, damping consumer spending and undermining the economy.

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