U.S. Gasoline Pump Price Drops 5 Cents to $2.24, Lundberg Says

April 24, 2005; Daniel Thomas writing for Bloomberg reported that U.S. gasoline pump prices fell 5 cents in the past two weeks to $2.24 a gallon, Trilby Lundberg said, citing a survey of about 7,000 gas stations by her Camarillo, California, research firm.

``Gasoline prices have been catching up with crude oil,'' Lundberg said. They reached a record $2.29 two weeks ago in her survey, reflecting oil's surge to $58.28 a barrel on April 4, the highest-ever in New York trading.

Oil prices are down 5 percent from their record, and Lundberg predicted that ``the chances of any big move in gasoline prices are slim.'' Retail gasoline prices are likely to be ``somewhat stable'' in coming months, she said in an interview.

Lundberg surveys the price paid for regular unleaded gasoline every two weeks. Before this year, the highest price in her survey $2.07 a gallon on May 21, 2004. Retail gasoline prices in Lundberg's survey are up 25 percent from $1.79 a gallon on Jan. 9.

The cost of the crude oil that goes into a gallon of gasoline makes up about 44 percent of the U.S. retail price, according to the Energy Department's statistical arm.

The lowest price for self-serve regular gasoline was in Tulsa, Oklahoma, at $2.04 a gallon, according to Lundberg's survey. The highest was San Francisco at $2.64.