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FUEL PRICE BRIEF CONTACT: For your local media contact visit www.AAA.com/Media Jessica Brady, manager, AAA Public Relations, office: (813) 288-7294; cell: (813) 532-5327, JBrady@AAASouth.com
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WEAK DOLLAR PUSHES CRUDE OIL CLOSE TO $90 A BARREL
TAMPA, Fla.(Dec. 05, 2010)—The value of the U.S. dollar retreated on poor economic news in November and increased the appeal of crude oil as a commodity to foreign investors. The loss pushed crude prices up more than $5 to settle Friday at $89.19 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Last week's news that U.S. employers added far fewer jobs than forecast in November helped decrease the value of the dollar and move the unemployment rate close to two digits at 9.8 percent—the highest level since April. Fuel consumption also dropped off after the Thanksgiving push, and is down 1.8 percent reaching its lowest level since October.
"The November news is very likely to keep the value of the dollar down and oil prices high, pushing them above $90 a barrel," said Jessica Brady, manager, AAA Public Relations. "This is not good news going into the December holiday season and while we don't expect the higher gas prices to deter many holiday travelers, it will definitely make consumer wallets a little tighter. Gas prices have already shown steep increases going into this week and will likely continue upwards as a result of the $5 plus increase in the price of oil."
The national average price of unleaded regular gasoline is $2.93 per gallon, up 7 cents from last week. Florida’s average price of $2.94 reflects a 9-cent increase from last week. Tennessee’s average price of $2.80 reflects an increase of 13 cents and Georgia’s average price of $2.83 reflects an 11-cent increase from last week, respectively.
CURRENT AND PAST PRICE AVERAGES
Regular Unleaded Gasoline
Current Week Ago Month Ago Year Ago
National: $2.939 $2.860 $2.819 $2.638
Florida: $2.949 $2.858 $2.795 $2.691
Georgia: $2.832 $2.724 $2.696 $2.521
Tennessee: $2.804 $2.679 $2.643 $2.506
AAA’s Daily Fuel Gauge Report (fuelgaugereport.com) is updated each day and is the most comprehensive; reflecting actual prices from credit card transactions within the past 24 hours at two-thirds (100,000 stations) of the gasoline stations in the U.S. Its accuracy is unparalleled.
Next Fuel Price Brief: Sunday, December 12, 2010