NEW YORK - Gasoline and oil futures prices rocketed to new records Wednesday, propelled by concerns about how much gas will be available during the peak summer months. Crude futures approached US$115 for the first time.
Gas futures prices set records after the Energy Department's Energy Information Administration reported that supplies of the fuel fell by 5.5 million barrels last week, much more than analysts surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires had expected.
The report raised concerns that there won't be enough gasoline to meet demand this summer. May gasoline futures rose 3.58 cents to $2.9168 a gallon on the New York Mercantile Exchange after earlier rising to a trading record of $2.933.
Meanwhile, oil futures rose to a new trading high of US$114.95 after the report said crude inventories fell by 2.3 million barrels last week, compared to the gain analysts expected.
Light, sweet crude for May delivery was up 60 cents at $114.39 a barrel on the Nymex by late morning.
The EIA also reported that inventories of distillates, which included heating oil and diesel, unexpectedly rose last week by about 100,000 barrels. Analysts had expected a sharp decline. That news sent May heating oil futures 0.48 cent lower to $2.2691 a gallon on the Nymex.
At the pump, meanwhile, the U.S. national average price of a gallon of regular unleaded gas rose 1.3 cents Wednesday to a record US$3.399 a gallon -- about 89.5 cents US a litre -- according to a survey of stations by AAA and the Oil Price Information Service. That's 53 cents higher than a year ago, and is expected to keep climbing along with futures prices and as the summer driving season draws near.
The average national U.S. price of a gallon of diesel, meanwhile, rose a cent to a record $4.129 a gallon, the survey showed.
In Canada, a weekly survey by Calgary-based MJ Ervin & Associates Inc. reported an average price of gasoline in Canada of C$1.185 per litre, up 2.3 cents from a week ago. It was the highest weekly price since September 2005, when pump prices hit $1.26 per litre.
The price in Vancouver was $1.223 per litre, up 0.4 of a cent, while the price in Calgary was $1.153, down 0.1 of a cent. In Toronto, the price was $1.152 per litre, up 3.1 cents.
