U.S. Gasoline Prices Make Highest Jump in 50 Years
Analyst Trilby Lundberg said the jump, which was not adjusted for inflation, was the biggest increase since that survey began a half-century ago.
Although heavy trucks use diesel fuel rather than gasoline, roughly a third of trucking-related freight hauls require gasoline for local pickup and delivery operations, so the gas-price jump will affect trucking.
And since the cost of diesel often rises in tandem with gasoline, there can be upward pass-through effects on diesel when gasoline costs are climbing. The Energy Department reports its latest weekly diesel price late Monday afternoon, but in recent weeks the average diesel price has been rising.
One reason for the price climb was that the environmental rules that kick in during spring and summer force many U.S. refineries to go through the more expensive process to make reformulated gasoline, the Associated Press noted.
The Wall Street Journal noted that other factors contributing to the gasoline price surge were a recent spike in prices for natural gas. MTBE, a federally required additive used to reduce emissions, is derived from natural gas.
Another factor is that many refineries that had delayed maintenance or repairs over the past year, when they were operating at capacity to make motor fuels and heating oil, are now having to go through longer periods of down time than normal. That has temporarily cut into available fuel supplies, and thereby boosted the price.
The highest gasoline price in the Lundberg Survey was $1.95 per gallon in San Francisco, while Salt Lake City had the lowest at $1.43.
