Gas jumps nearly 18 cents in 2 weeks

Gasoline prices jumped nearly 18 cents over the past two weeks, the first two-week rise since early August, according to a survey published Sunday.
Since the October 9 survey, the average price per gallon has climbed by 17.82 cents. The current price is 12.3 cents less than the price a year ago.
The retail price of diesel fuel jumped a similar amount in the past two weeks – 16.75 cents. The price of diesel fuel is $2.817.
There has been no significant increase in the demand for crude oil, nor large decrease in supplies of crude that can explain almost a $9 per barrel jump in the past two weeks. Crude oil now costs $80.50 a barrel.
Traders buying futures contracts on the New York Mercantile Exchange anticipate that the price of crude oil will keep rising every year. For instance, they are betting that the price of crude will climb to $98 per barrel by 2017, an increase of about $18.
Prices in earlier years also are high – the expected price in 2011 is $87.67. The oil futures market looking out into the future is seeing higher prices, not lower prices.
It also is possible that traders fear dollar weakness in future years. Both of these factors may be contributing to today’s prices.
Among U.S. regions, the West has the most expensive gasoline at an average of $2.86 per gallon. That compares to $2.67 in the Midwest; $2.62 on the East Coast and $2.51 in the Rockies.
The city with the highest average price in the most recent survey was Anchorage, Alaska, at $3.25 per gallon. The cheapest gas was in Tucson, Arizona, at $2.24.

Finance