Last week, oil prices averaged $82.37, a 5 percent increase from the last week in September. Crude’s momentum was only briefly interrupted last Friday with the release of worse than expected U.S. Department of Labor data showing the unemployment rate remained above 9.5 percent for the 14th consecutive month.
This led to a brief drop in crude prices but the market rebounded before the end of trading to finish above $80 per barrel for the sixth consecutive day. Many analysts are pointing solely to the relative weakness of the dollar to explain October’s crude prices. Retail prices in several areas of the country are showing substantial increases from one year ago. The national average is $2.82, 35 cents higher than one year ago.
In Blount County, the average price of a gallon of regular gasoline Thursday was $2.64, compared to $2.62 last week, $2.54 last month, and $2.27 last year.
