Copyright 1999 Gannett Company, Inc.
USA TODAY
March 8, 1999, Monday, FINAL EDITION
SECTION: MONEY; Pg. 1B
LENGTH: 343 words
HEADLINE:
Gas prices could surge by summer Rising cost
of crude oil may signal the end of oversupply
BYLINE:
Beth Belton
BODY:
Fill 'er up on cheap gas while
you can.
Gasoline prices, which hit 20-year lows last month, are
starting
to rise. By some estimates, prices could rise 25% over the next
three months.
Crude oil prices soared last week amid signs that the
global energy
glut may be starting to subside.
Experts predict
that oil prices could continue to rebound, which
would lead to higher
gasoline prices as the USA's spring and summer
vacation driving seasons
approach.
The national retail price for unleaded gasoline increased
to an
average 91.3 cents a gallon the last week of February, ending
five
consecutive weeks of price declines, the Department of Energy
said last
week.
Crude oil prices have surged 17% the past three weeks.
Volatile
trading is expected to continue, but the medium-term trend is
probably higher, says David Bellman, analyst at Houston-based
Purvin
& Gertz Crude Oil and Refining Outlook newsletter.
Friday,
west Texas intermediate, a benchmark blend, dipped 5 cents
to end the day at
$ 13.30 after an exuberant week.
Bellman says crude oil prices could
average $ 15 a barrel next
quarter vs. $ 12 a barrel so far this quarter.
That's a 25% increase
that could quickly show up at gasoline pumps, experts
say.
The bullish outlook was reflected in U.S. oil company stocks,
which jumped Friday. Shares of Exxon, Texaco, Mobil and Conoco
hit
two-week highs.
"The fundamentals are improving, that's for sure,"
says Antoine
Halff, staffer at New York-based Petroleum Intelligence
Weekly
newsletter.
Those fundamentals include:
* Rising world demand as the U.S. economy chugs along and
Asia
shows signs of recovery. Latin America has so far avoided
economic disaster.
* Worldwide production falling faster than expected. The
11-member Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries continues
to
outproduce its 24.4 million-barrel-a-day quota, but not by
much. OPEC meets
March 23 to discuss the quota.
* U.S. supplies of crude oil have
declined more rapidly
than anticipated.
GRAPHIC: GRAPHIC, Color, Julie Stacey, USA TODAY,
Source: USA TODAY research (Line graph)
LOAD-DATE:
March 08, 1999 
