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Energy futures spike; pump prices still flat
(AP) Holiday travelers can expect gasoline prices to remain steady through the weekend even though oil prices spiked Wednesday on falling inventories.
The amount of crude and gasoline held in storage tumbled last week, according to the Energy Information Administration.
Gasoline futures jumped nearly 4 percent, which will eventually move retail prices but not before the year is over.
Gasoline prices have been hovering around $2.60 per gallon for weeks now as oil has traded close to $75 a barrel.
Auto club AAA is projecting that 87.7 million Americans will be traveling 50 miles or more on during the holidays, a 3.8 percent increase from a year ago and the largest projected increase for any major holiday this year.
Gasoline costs a lot more now than it did last year, but the AAA says that is not deterring travelers.
How much people travel can be more about confidence in the economy than pump prices and last year at this time the economic crises was in full swing.
Prices at the pump were essentially flat overnight at $2.584 a gallon, according to AAA, Wright Express and Oil Price Information Service. That's 6 cents lower than a month ago, but 92.5 cents higher than a year ago.
AAA says the increase in traveling during the holidays is a sign that consumers are growing more confident in their personal financial situations.
Still, compared with past years demand for fuel remains very weak. Other factors, like the weak U.S. currency have kept energy prices elevated.
Because crude is priced in the U.S. currency, investors holding other currencies like the euro can buy more crude when the dollar falls.
The dollar fell Wednesday and bigger than expected draws in crude and gasoline inventories sent energy prices jumping higher.
Benchmark crude for February delivery rose $1.67 to $76.07 on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Crude also climbed are oil supplies dropped more than analysts were expecting.
In other Nymex trading in January contracts, heating oil rose 5.6 cents to $2.0043 while gasoline gained 6.4 cents to $1.9525. Natural gas fell was flat at cents to $5.716 per 1,000 cubic feet.
In London, Brent crude for February delivery rose $1.18 to $74.64 on the ICE Futures exchange.
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