NEW YORK - Retail gas prices climbed for the 50th straight day Wednesday, the longest streak in records dating to 1996, even as benchmark crude fell for the fourth day in a row.

Historically, filling station prices tend to rise during the summer as millions of vacationing Americans pour onto the highways. A surge in crude prices during the past few months and less production from the refiners that make gasoline has added even more pressure on prices.

Pump prices added a half cent overnight to a new national average of $2.679 a gallon, according to auto club AAA, Wright Express and Oil Price Information Service. A gallon of regular gas has jumped nearly 37 cents in a month. That’s still cheaper than a gallon of gas three years ago at this point in June.

On Wednesday, crude oil tumbled below $70 a barrel after a key government report said U.S. gasoline supplies grew more than expected last week.

Benchmark crude for July delivery fell $1 to $69.47 on the New York Mercantile Exchange. In London, Brent prices fell 98 cents to $69.26 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.

The Energy Information Administration report said gasoline reserves grew last week by 3.4 million barrels, or 1.7 percent, to 205 million barrels. Analysts expected stockpiles of the motor fuel to rise by 650,000 barrels.

Demand for gasoline was up 1.1 percent from last year, averaging nearly 9.3 million barrels a day over the four weeks ended June 12.

Crude inventories fell last week by 3.9 million barrels, or 1.1 percent, to 357.7 million barrels, the report said.

Oil prices this week have come off eight-month highs near $73 a barrel amid some signs that the U.S. economy, while past the worst of a severe recession, is still weak. Crude prices have dropped with equities markets this week, and they continued to fall Wednesday though the dollar was week.

Because barrels are priced in U.S. currency, oil tends to rise when the dollar falls.

In other Nymex trading, gasoline for July delivery tumbled 6.37 cents to $2.0074 a gallon and heating oil dropped 1.3 cents to $1.812. Natural gas for July delivery added 2.1 cents to $4.150 per 1,000 cubic feet.

Source (article): MSNBC

Source (picture): THEDAILYGREEN

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — Gasoline prices rose for the fifth straight day on Monday, according to a nationwide survey of gas station credit card swipes - a sign that oil companies expect higher demand later this year.

The price of regular unleaded rose 1.4 cents to a national average of $1.672 a gallon, motorist group AAA reported on Monday.

Rising prices at this time of year are a sign that oil companies are preparing for an increase in demand in the spring and summer, according to Jason Toews, co-founder of GasBuddy.com, a service that lets motorists post local fuel prices online.

Oil companies “don’t like to shock us,” said Toews. “They like to ease us in to higher prices.”

If prices rise too quickly, it could cause a dramatic drop in demand, he added.

Gas prices have fallen since last summer as the economy slowed and Americans cut back on driving.

Americans drove 100 billion fewer miles during the 12-month period between November 2007 and October 2008 compared with the previous year, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation.

And gas consumption was down 3.2% in 2008 when compared to a similar length of time in 2007, according to the MasterCard Spending Pulse report, which tracks national retail sales.

For the week ending Dec. 26, U.S. gas consumption fell by 2.9%, according to data from the MasterCard Spending Pulse report.

“We’re still not at a point where people are using more (gas) than a year ago, but the declines are not as great,” said Doug MacIntyre, senior oil market analyst at the Energy Department.

Gasoline use has not seen a year-over-year increase since April 18, according to MacIntyre.

January’s average price is down 7.9 cents from last month’s average of $1.751 a gallon, and down more than $1.40 from last year’s average of $3.104. Gas prices have plummeted from a record average of $4.114 a gallon reached in July.

While $4 a gallon gas will probably not reappear any time soon, according to Toews, if demand picks up, prices could reach $2.75 by the summer.

Economy: Fuel consumption remains low compared to a year ago, but that could change if the economy turns around, said Chris Lafakis, associate economist with Moody’s Economy.com.

There is a lot of hope the economy will start to stabilize after the next presidential administration takes office, according to Lafakis.

There are “expectations that the new administration will be able to revive the economy with a large stimulus package,” said Lafakis.

President-elect Barack Obama, who takes the oath of office on Jan. 20, is expected to push Congress for an economic stimulus package that could cost between $675 billion and $775 billion.

Crude oil: Gas prices are rising with the price of crude oil, which is the main ingredient in gas and accounts for more than half the price of a gallon of gasoline.

Falling oil prices, which helped drive gas below $1.50 in some states, have started to bottom out.

“Crude oil can only go so far,” said Toews.

After topping out at more than $100 a barrel in July, oil hit a four-year low of $32.40 a barrel on Dec. 19. Prices have since eased up to $47 a barrel on Monday.

State prices: Prices remained above $2 a gallon on average in only two states on Monday: Alaska ($2.503) and Hawaii ($2.290). Gas was cheapest in Montana at $1.467 a gallon on average, and sold for less than $1.50 on average in three states.

Out of the major U.S. cities, Anchorage, Ala., has the highest average gas prices, at $2.34 a gallon, according to GasBuddy.com. Salt Lake City has the lowest average, at $1.381.

Diesel: The price of diesel fuel, which is used in most trucks and commercial vehicles, fell 0.6 cents to an average of $2.402 on Monday.

Because of diesel’s role in shipping and transport, diesel prices can also affect the prices of other goods.

Ethanol: The price of E85, an 85% ethanol blend made primarily from corn, jumped 4.8 cents to an average of $1.533 a gallon in Friday’s survey, according to AAA.

E85 can be used in place of regular gas in specially configured “flex-fuel” vehicles, but it is not readily available in some states.

The AAA figures are statewide averages based on credit card swipes at up to 100,000 service stations across the nation. GasBuddy prices are averages of local regular unleaded gasoline prices that about 700,000 volunteer gas prices spotters have posted online. Individual drivers may see lower fuel prices in different areas of each state.

Source: CNNMONEY.COM

Sales are crashing and economic recovery likely won’t reverse trend

DETROIT - Asked recently how the U.S. minivan market has been faring, Nissan’s Dominique Thormann had a concise answer.

“It collapsed,” said Thormann, a senior vice president of Nissan North America.

While the rapid decline in pickup and sport utility sales has been grabbing the headlines, minivan sales have also taken a tumble, falling 20 percent in the first five months of this year.

And unlike trucks, which could rebound once the construction industry picks up, it’s unclear if minivans have a future in the U.S. market or if they’re being killed off by crossovers and the stodgy taint of the soccer mom image.

“The future of the segment is up in the air,” said Tom Libby, senior director of industry analysis for the Power Information Network, a division of J.D. Power and Associates. Libby said the advantages of minivans — the sliding doors and height — has been eroded by the negative image of minivans and consumer preference for SUV-like styling.

The slump reflects what’s going on in the wider U.S. market. Overall auto sales were down 8 percent through May, and big vehicles like minivans took the brunt of it because of high gas prices. Large pickup truck sales fell 21 percent, while large SUVs were down 32 percent.

It doesn’t help that families — minivans’ target audience — have been particularly impacted by rising gas and food prices, falling home values and more difficulty in borrowing money, said Rebecca Lindland, an auto analyst for the Waltham, Mass.-based consulting company Global Insight.

“Everything that a family needs is more expensive right now, and so the last thing they’re looking at is do they need to replace their Honda Odyssey,” she said.

But even before the economy took its toll, families were migrating away from minivans. U.S. minivan sales peaked at 1.37 million in 2000, 17 years after Chrysler introduced them. They’ve been falling at a steady rate since then, to 793,335 last year. This year, sales are expected to fall below 650,000 for the first time since 1986.

One reason is the rise of crossovers, which offer similar space but more car-like handling. In March through May of 2004, 12 percent of minivan owners trading in their vehicles bought a crossover. That rose to 26 percent in the same period this year, according to the Power Information Network. Crossovers accounted for just 4 percent of the U.S. market in 2000; they now account for 19 percent.

Another reason for minivans’ decline is that some players have left the market. General Motors Corp. will stop making minivans by the end of this year, while Ford Motor Co. quit producing the Ford Freestar and Mercury Monterey in 2006.

Thormann said Nissan has no plans to exit the market for now, despite a 34 percent drop in sales of the Nissan Quest so far this year. Thormann said that first, Nissan needs to figure out where large SUV buyers are going and whether they will choose to downsize to minivans.

“The fact is that the minivan hit a particular need. Then, that same need was satisfied — because fuel was cheap, because affordability was high — with an SUV,” he said. “But once you’re stuck up there and you’re thinking, ‘Oh, wait a minute, do I need to be a little bit more rational and do I need to come down a notch without sacrificing much utility?’ Does the minivan become an alternative to that or is it the crossover?”

Perhaps the biggest gamble in the shrinking market was made by Chrysler LLC, which spent $1.4 billion on the redesign of its two industry-leading minivans, the Chrysler Town & Country and Dodge Grand Caravan. Despite the investment and new features such as swiveling seats, Caravan sales fell 35 percent through May. Town & Country sales were down 13 percent.

Chrysler remains bullish on minivans and says sales have dropped for several reasons. First, the company discontinued the cheaper, short wheelbase version of the Caravan because it couldn’t accommodate the new features, a decision that priced some buyers out of the market. The 2007 Dodge Caravan had a suggested retail price of $19,055; the 2008 Grand Caravan starts at $21,930.

Chrysler also says it significantly cut the low-profit sales it used to make to rental, corporate and other fleets. Non-fleet sales were up 23 percent this spring, the company says, and many buyers are choosing options like backseat televisions that improve Chrysler’s margins.

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