Gas prices to spike
This just crossed on the wire:
WASHINGTON (AP) - Oil prices jumped to a record above $75 a barrel on Wednesday, propelled by a rally in gasoline that analysts said could send average U.S. pump prices past $3 a gallon by the weekend.
Recent snags in oil-shipping and refining along the Gulf Coast have raised traders' concerns about motor-fuel supplies at a time when demand continues to rise in spite of soaring prices. The start of a new fiscal quarter also brought more speculative money into the market, brokers said.
"Everybody thought we'd hit a price that would create permanent demand destruction. But demand for gasoline is rising," said Alaron Trading Corp. analyst Phil Flynn. "Once again the American public has shown its ability to get over paying high prices for gasoline."
A protracted diplomatic standoff between the West and Iran, OPEC's No. 2 oil supplier, has kept a high floor underneath prices, and analysts said geopolitical tensions were heightened further on Wednesday by North Korea's test-firing of missiles.
So what does this have to do with politics? I'm not sure. But would you want to run for re-election with gas prices going up?
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