Ford just seems to have no luck at all. Bye-bye for a significant number of Super Duty sales
As gas tops $3 in Calif., 'petro-noia' hits U.S.
SAN FRANCISCO -- Gasoline prices have jumped above $3 a gallon in some parts of California and Hawaii, and may hit that level in other parts of the country when the busy summer driving season approaches.
"It kills me," said Gloria Nunez, 53, as she filled her Ford Explorer SUV at a San Jose gas station. Nunez, a clerk for a communications company, has started working a couple hours of overtime each week to help soften the blow. "All of a sudden you kind of have to watch your pennies," she said.
Analysts say drivers should brace for more increases in the coming weeks. Crude oil, which makes up about half the price of gasoline, is trading above $60 a barrel. Higher demand, refinery maintenance and fears about springtime shortages are also driving up prices.
"The West Coast will certainly be the wild, wild West this year," said Tom Kloza, chief oil analyst for the Oil Price Information Service. Extensive maintenance work at West Coast refineries has curtailed supplies and exacerbated the typical "preseason rally" spurred by jitters about tight supplies.
"In the rest of the country, it's just petro-noia. They're worried that they won't have enough gasoline," Kloza said. "But on the West Coast the concern might be warranted."
Analysts said it's unlikely other parts of the country would see $3 gasoline before summer without a major disruption in supply. Average fuel prices are still below their historical highs -- most of which were set in 2006 -- but are inching higher weeks earlier than usual.
-- "I have tried to live my life so that my family would love me and my friends respect me. The others can do whatever the hell they please." John Wayne