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Gasoline prices shoot up on optimism

By Palm Beach Business.com

DELRAY BEACH — Evidence of a stronger economy and prospects of a solution to the European debt crisis sent gasoline prices sharply higher over the past week. Prices had fallen for six consecutive weeks previously.

The federal Energy Information Administration  on Monday reported regular unleaded gasoline averaging $3.476 a gallon nationally at the pump, up from $3.417 a gallon a week ago but still below the $3.601of a month ago.

In Florida, EIA has regular averaging $3.393 a gallon, up from $3.322 a week ago but down from $3.551 a month ago.

In Palm Beach County, the most expensive market for gasoline in Florida, regular averaged $3.541 a gallon, according to AAA’s Fuel Gauge Report, up from $3.479 a week ago. A month ago regular averaged $3.686 a gallon.

In Broward County, AAA found regular averaging $3.51, up from last week’s $3.459 a gallon. A month ago the Broward average was $3.658.

Last week, the market reacted to talks of a plan to resolve Europe's debt issues and received additional upward momentum from a Commerce Department report that showed U.S. retail sales increased 1.1 percent last month. Crude oil settled Friday at $86.80 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange — $3.22 more than the week prior. 

On Monday, European leaders walked back a bit on the chances for a resolution to the crisis, but the market for crude oil barely budged.

"The market has waited more than a month for a piece of positive news to latch onto and drive oil prices higher. Although the data caused investors to get bullish, it will be interesting to see if the increase in oil prices is sustainable," said AAA’s Jessica Brady. "Retail gas prices already reacted to the two-week jump in oil prices and reversed the downward momentum reflected in September. We're likely to see gas prices continue to increase this week unless oil prices fall."