"After four weeks of declines, the national average for regular unleaded increases a nickel this week to $2.51. Oregon's average continues to drop slightly, decreasing a penny to $2.66."
AAA Oregon Public Affairs Director Marie Dodds says, "For the most part this summer, we've seen pump prices follow crude oil prices. Positive economic news has tended to send crude prices higher, with pump prices following, and vice versa with negative economic news causing prices to drop. Overall, pump prices have remained fairly stable this summer, with both the national and Oregon averages within 14 cents of where they were a month ago."
Crude oil prices today are trading around $67 a barrel, after ending last week at about $68. In the first half of 2009, prices climbed from the mid-$30 range to the mid-$70 range, due in large part to production cuts and investor hope for an economic turnaround. Dodds says, "In the last two months, crude prices have been hovering between $60 and $75 a barrel. This range seems to represent a short term price comfort zone for analysts and traders alike."
Every week, investors are confronted with a host of mixed messages on the state of the economy. Traders must balance positive economic news, such as record housing starts and solid corporate earnings reports, with negative news such as high new unemployment filings and continued sagging demand and consumer spending. From these conflicting messages, investors try to predict the short and long-term demand for oil and gasoline. Dodds adds, "Barring unforeseen events, there's little to suggest oil or gasoline prices will move significantly up or down in the next few weeks as demand remains low and oil and gasoline supplies are still plentiful."
