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ith retail fuel prices soaring at record levels in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, crude oil prices fell lower Tuesday following international pledges to boost U.S. supplies, Bloomberg reported.
U.S. retail gasoline prices jumped 45 cents last week to $3.057 a gallon, AAA said, and price averages could reach $3.50 or even $4, Bloomberg reported, citing analysts.
Gulf oil output was 58% below normal, Bloomberg reported.
Crude oil prices slipped to below $66 a barrel, closing on the New York Mercantile Exchange at $65.96, down from $67.57 Friday and the $70-plus record levels set as Katrina was hitting Florida and moved into the Gulf of Mexico over the weekend of Aug. 26, Bloomberg reported.
Gasoline futures also fell Tuesday, Bloomberg said.
The price drops were helped by the International Energy Agency’s pledge last week to release 60 million barrels of crude oil to the market and also to release 30 million barrels of mostly gasoline and other refined products, Bloomberg reported Tuesday.
Even some non-U.S. allies such as Iran and Venezuela have offered some fuel assistance, news reports said.
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said his country would sell the United States 1 million barrels of refined gasoline, and Iran reportedly will sell the U.S. up to 20 million barrels of oil, Bloomberg reported.
