Crude prices fall off record high; gas heading up
NEW YORK -- Oil prices fell Friday as investors sold to lock in profits, but analysts doubt oil's record-breaking run is over and say gasoline prices are about to start rising, as well.
Gasoline prices have so far held steady or even fallen despite a rally that boosted oil to new records for eight straight trading sessions on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
"That's over now," said Tom Kloza, publisher and chief oil analyst at the Oil Price Information Service. "From now on, every $1 a barrel advance in crude has to be accompanied by a 2½ cent increase in gas prices."
The average price Friday in the Chicago area for a gallon of self-serve unleaded regular gasoline was $3.121, according to AAA.
Oil's advance has been driven by a combination of the Federal Reserve's half-point interest rate cut, the falling dollar and concerns that tropical storms will strike key oil and gas installations in the Gulf of Mexico.
Interest rates and their role in pulling the dollar lower are drawing fresh investment dollars into energy markets, analysts say. Because oil and other commodities are priced in dollars, they still appear cheaper to overseas investors, whose currencies have strengthened against the dollar.
Light, sweet crude for November delivery fell 16 cents to settle at $81.62 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange after rising as high as $82.40 earlier. November crude became the benchmark front-month contract after the October contract expired Thursday at a record close of $83.32. Prices reached $83.90 in intraday trading, also a record.
Oil prices ended the week $2.52, or 3.1 percent, higher. But the October contract rose $4.22, or 5.3 percent, before expiring Thursday. The November contract started its run as the benchmark front-month contract priced $1.54 below the October contract.
In London, November Brent crude rose 21 cents to settle at $79.30 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.
Despite Friday's swoon, many analysts expect oil to continue rising in the near term.
"What interest rates were placed at … is the key to oil prices going higher," said James Cordier, president of Liberty Trading Group in Tampa, Fla.
But as oil has risen, the spread between what many retailers pay for their gasoline and what they charge consumers has shrunk substantially or even reversed in some cases.
"The people who actually sell the gasoline are really, really suffering," Kloza said.
Retail gas prices in many areas are already a nickel behind where they would need to be to allow retailers to turn a profit, Kloza estimated. Gas prices will likely rise an average of 10 to 15 cents a gallon nationwide over the next couple of weeks, Cordier said.
Retail gas prices peaked at $3.227 in late May. At the time, refiners were reporting an unusual number of unexpected outages. As the summer progressed, however, refiners ramped up production and the supply worries ebbed. With peak summer driving season receding, many analysts had concluded falling demand would compensate for supplies, which are again falling. They didn't count on oil's fall surge.