Gas prices jump eight cents during week

Gas prices rose sharply during the week amid speculation that oil producers might again try to rein in output.

AAA Mid-Atlantic reported the average price at the pump rose eight cents during the week and move past the $2 a gallon mark.

Still, drivers were not unhappy, were still 30 cents or more a gallon below the figures of a year ago.

CURRENT AND PAST GAS PRICE AVERAGES

Regular Unleaded Gasoline (*indicates record high)

At the close of Friday’s formal trading session on the NYMEX,  the benchmark grade of crude oil was up $4.03 a barrel from last week at $48.52 per barrel.

“Although gas prices are rising slightly, current market factors are paving the way for the possibility of the lowest pump prices in more than a decade to persist through Labor Day,” said Jana L. Tidwell, Manager of Public and Government Affairs for AAA Mid-Atlantic.  “However, a major market-moving event, like a hurricane or increasing crude oil costs, is not out of the question and could temporarily drive pump prices higher.”

Members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) will meet in Algeria at the end of September but the prospects of an agreement on a production freeze are doubtful. There were also scattered signs that domestic refineries might begin to cut production.

While West Texas Intermediate crude oil is still trading substantially lower than recent years, prices have increased in August and are now trading at the highest level in a month. If OPEC members agree to limit production, rising crude oil prices could offset or even reverse expected downward pressure on U.S. pump prices from tapering demand and cheaper seasonal blends.

You can check out gas prices in your neighborhood through AAA’s Fuel Price Finder –  (http://www.AAA.com/fuelfinder).