Dec. 8, 2010
AAA FUEL GAUGE: West Virginia Gasoline Prices Soar More Than a Dime
Special to Huntingtonnews.net
West Virginia motorists will be putting lower gas prices on their holiday wish list since prices escalated 10.5 cents per gallon this week. The West Virginia average price for a gallon of self-serve, regular unleaded gasoline is currently $3.026.
According to AAA’s Fuel Gauge, crude oil prices settled at a multi-year high of $89.38 Monday, up only 19 cents on the day but $3.65 from a week ago.
Following a choppy start to last week, crude prices saw a dramatic run-up to end the week at its highest close since October 8, 2008. These gains were largely credited to an aligning of bullish news for crude markets, including economic growth in the US and China; a decline in the US dollar; and positive fundamental data reports.
Wednesday marked a tectonic shift for crude, as a chain-reaction of events served to slingshot prices to levels not seen since 2008. Jumpstarting the rally was a strengthening of the Euro on renewed faith in EU sovereign debt following Portugal’s successful auction of treasury bills. This news both boosted global market confidence and pressured the dollar lower, which, as discussed above, subsequently drove crude prices higher.
Adding to the run was news that Chinese manufacturing had grown at its fastest rate in seven months, easing some fears of a looming industrial slowdown in the country due to monetary tightening. A report Wednesday afternoon by payrolls processor Automatic Data Processing Inc. showing that US private sector payrolls had jumped by 93,000 in November—their largest increase in three years—continued the trend of rosy global economic news for the markets, and the rally for crude prices was on.
This positive news continued to drive crude markets through the end of last week and into today, as the dollar has shown weakness and both equities and commodities, such as crude, have responded with expected strength. While bulls paused Friday as the US Department of Labor reported that the American economy had added a mere 39,000 jobs to payrolls in November—almost 100,000 short of expectations—these soft numbers didn’t impede momentum for long, as consensus seemed to be that these numbers would be revised upward, allowing crude prices to continue their ascent.
The current national retail average price for a gallon of self-serve regular gasoline is $2.958, up just more than a penny from Friday but nearly a dime from this time a week ago. This level marks the highest price since October 17, 2008. With the average US price less than a nickel below $3.00, it’s worth noting that the US has never spent Christmas with a $3.00 per gallon price at the pump.
This week’s average prices: West Virginia Average $3.026
Average price during the week of November 30, 2010 $2.921
Average price during the week of December 8, 2009 $2.668
The following is a list of the average price of unleaded self-serve gasoline in various areas:
$3.022 Bridgeport
$3.016 Clarksburg
$2.967 Huntington
$3.050 Martinsburg
$3.045 Morgantown
$3.039 Parkersburg
$3.038 Weirton
$3.036 Wheeling
AAA East Central is a not-for-profit association with 80 local offices in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Ohio, New York and Kentucky servicing 2.5 million members.
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AAA FUEL GAUGE: West Virginia Gasoline Prices Soar More Than a Dime
Special to Huntingtonnews.net
West Virginia motorists will be putting lower gas prices on their holiday wish list since prices escalated 10.5 cents per gallon this week. The West Virginia average price for a gallon of self-serve, regular unleaded gasoline is currently $3.026.
According to AAA’s Fuel Gauge, crude oil prices settled at a multi-year high of $89.38 Monday, up only 19 cents on the day but $3.65 from a week ago.
Following a choppy start to last week, crude prices saw a dramatic run-up to end the week at its highest close since October 8, 2008. These gains were largely credited to an aligning of bullish news for crude markets, including economic growth in the US and China; a decline in the US dollar; and positive fundamental data reports.
Wednesday marked a tectonic shift for crude, as a chain-reaction of events served to slingshot prices to levels not seen since 2008. Jumpstarting the rally was a strengthening of the Euro on renewed faith in EU sovereign debt following Portugal’s successful auction of treasury bills. This news both boosted global market confidence and pressured the dollar lower, which, as discussed above, subsequently drove crude prices higher.
Adding to the run was news that Chinese manufacturing had grown at its fastest rate in seven months, easing some fears of a looming industrial slowdown in the country due to monetary tightening. A report Wednesday afternoon by payrolls processor Automatic Data Processing Inc. showing that US private sector payrolls had jumped by 93,000 in November—their largest increase in three years—continued the trend of rosy global economic news for the markets, and the rally for crude prices was on.
This positive news continued to drive crude markets through the end of last week and into today, as the dollar has shown weakness and both equities and commodities, such as crude, have responded with expected strength. While bulls paused Friday as the US Department of Labor reported that the American economy had added a mere 39,000 jobs to payrolls in November—almost 100,000 short of expectations—these soft numbers didn’t impede momentum for long, as consensus seemed to be that these numbers would be revised upward, allowing crude prices to continue their ascent.
The current national retail average price for a gallon of self-serve regular gasoline is $2.958, up just more than a penny from Friday but nearly a dime from this time a week ago. This level marks the highest price since October 17, 2008. With the average US price less than a nickel below $3.00, it’s worth noting that the US has never spent Christmas with a $3.00 per gallon price at the pump.
This week’s average prices: West Virginia Average $3.026
Average price during the week of November 30, 2010 $2.921
Average price during the week of December 8, 2009 $2.668
The following is a list of the average price of unleaded self-serve gasoline in various areas:
$3.022 Bridgeport
$3.016 Clarksburg
$2.967 Huntington
$3.050 Martinsburg
$3.045 Morgantown
$3.039 Parkersburg
$3.038 Weirton
$3.036 Wheeling
AAA East Central is a not-for-profit association with 80 local offices in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Ohio, New York and Kentucky servicing 2.5 million members.
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