US gasoline costs fall to lowest levels since 2009
2/9/2016 12:00:00 AM
NEW YORK (Reuters) -- The average price of a gallon of gasoline in the US fell 8.2 cents in the past two weeks to its lowest level in seven years, according to a Lundberg survey released this week.
Regular grade gas fell to around $1.82/gal in the Feb. 5 survey from $1.91 on Jan. 22, when the previous survey was taken. The price was the lowest since Jan. 9, 2009, when it was roughly $1.78, survey publisher Trilby Lundberg said.
The latest price was 37 cents lower than a year ago as competitive pressures prompted refineries to drop wholesale gasoline prices amid weak oil prices, Lundberg said.
After tumbling to their lowest levels since 2003 amid a global glut prior to the last survey, oil prices stabilized in the last two weeks.
West Texas Intermediate, the US benchmark, traded between $29 and $35/bbl over the period, while Brent crude rallied to as high as $36.25/bbl.
"If crude oil prices are finding their bottom, then this will mean the end of the gasoline price crash," Lundberg said.
Despite the relative stability in oil prices in the past two weeks, refineries continued cutting wholesale gasoline prices to spur sales and remain competitive.
This contributed to the drop over the two-week period, but the refiners' margins are shrinking to unsustainable levels, Lundberg said.
"The margin squeeze on refiners has been extensive, especially since mid-December," she said. "At some point they will have to cry uncle and achieve a somewhat wider margin on gasoline."
In the Lundberg panel of large cities in 48 states, the lowest average retail price for gas was in Tulsa, Oklahoma, at $1.44/gal, and the highest was in Los Angeles, at $2.62/gal.
(Reporting by Luc Cohen; Editing by Sandra Maler)
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