Gasoline prices expected to rise

<a href=www.fayettevillenc.com>Fayetteville Online Published on: 2003-06-13 By Al Greenwood Staff writer

Summer drivers will probably pay more money at the pump this travel season because oil prices continue to increase.

The average price of a barrel of oil reached $30.72 on June 2, according to the Energy Information Administration. On Thursday, the price closed at $31.73. Before June, the last time the price of oil was above $30 per barrel was April 21, when it reached $30.76.

In Fayetteville, the average price of a gallon of gasoline was $1.39 on Thursday, according to AAA Carolinas. That's lower than $1.42, the average price for last month. But Thursday's figure is still 6 cents higher than last year's average.

On average, gasoline prices take two to five weeks to follow the trend of oil prices, said Ron Planting, an economist at the American Petroleum Institute, a trade group in Washington.

Chet Sechrest said he already has noticed the increase. He was filling up his 1991 Jeep Cherokee on Thursday at the Family Fare station at 2036 Gillespie St. A gallon of regular unleaded gasoline was selling for $1.419.

"There is no reason for an increase in gas prices," he said.

International market

World events would seem to support his claim. The strikes in oil-rich Venezuela have ended. Drilling has started in Azerbaijan, an oil-exporting country between Russia and Turkey. Oil production has resumed in Iraq.

Yet Sechrest is paying more for gasoline than last week, he said.

In the Southeast, the average price of a regular gallon of gas has risen from $1.570 on June 2 to $1.586 on Monday, according to the Energy Information Administration.

"I was hoping it would go down, to tell you the truth, but I don't like the increase," said Dennis Williams of Fayetteville. He was filling up his company truck at the Quick Stop at 1302 Robeson St. A gallon of regular unleaded gasoline was $1.419.

Williams owns D&D Refinishing, a company that restores furniture. His business requires a lot of driving, Williams said. To lower his travel expenses, he said, he tries to group appointments in the same region.

Gasoline prices typically increase during the summer because more people are driving, said Michael Walden, an economics professor at N.C. State University.

Prices also have increased because forecasters overestimated the amount of oil that Iraq would be exporting after the war.

If oil prices remain at $30 a barrel, it will not slow down the economy, Walden said. But it will slow down Sechrest.

He said he is riding his bike more often to save money.

Staff writer Al Greenwood can be reached greenwooda@fayettevillenc.com or at 486-3567.