Carol Thorp Last Quotations

Wholesale gasoline prices have dropped across the country and West Coast gasoline inventory is strong. That actually led to a slight decline in pump prices in the last few days, although overall averages are still higher than at this time last week. However, oil industry analysts expect wholesale prices to start heading up again once the more expensive summer-grade fuel starts going on the market at the end of February.

Nationally, production is down and demand is up compared to last year. In addition, many regions of the country are having trouble getting sufficient supplies of ethanol, which is used in new formulas for gas. Uncertainty about supply has lifted gasoline to near-record prices on the spot market and that filters down to the neighborhood gas pump.

Southern Californians have reduced their driving significantly in the past couple of months. Additionally across the nation, demand for gas is down 2 percent from this time last year.

In the last couple of days, prices have been going up by 2 or 3 cents in a 24-hour period. This is likely the same type of rapid price increase that has happened in Southern California every spring of this decade.