Rose Rougeau Lower Quotations

The price of gasoline at the wholesale level declined sharply last week and there continues to be downward pressure on gas in Texas. Motorists may be in for a few weeks of slightly lower prices. But toward the end of the month, it's likely that pump prices will resume an upward arc.

Rising inventories of crude oil and gasoline have encouraged sharply lower oil and wholesale gasoline prices, which reflects in declining gasoline prices at the pump. Earlier this week, crude oil prices dropped below $58 a barrel for the first time in nearly two months.

Retail gasoline prices have moved higher against a backdrop of increased crude oil prices. A year ago, crude oil traded at $49 a barrel and gas prices averaged $1.792--49 cents lower than the current average of $2.283. This week, crude hovers around $66 a barrel.

Conditions indicate that motorists may see slight increases in retail gasoline prices within the next few days. Typically, pump prices in Texas move lower during this time of year due to a decrease in demand, but with crude oil trading around $63 a barrel that has yet to happen.

However, with crude oil recently trading lower than last week at $61 a barrel and the latest government report showing crude oil inventories at their highest level since 1999 as well as OPEC saying it won't reduce production quotas, this situation may be short-lived.