Wholesale gasoline hits $3 on Gulf Coast [View All]

[htuttle]

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Wholesale gasoline prices on the Gulf Coast broke $3 a gallon on Tuesday -- far higher than prices at most U.S. pumps -- as major refineries remained shut after Hurricane Katrina, trading sources said.

(snip)

"This in many ways is the worst-case scenario that the oil industry has been fearing," said Geoff Sundstrom, spokesman for the AAA motorist group. "Production, distribution, and refining has slowed to a crawl through the whole area and that will mean higher gasoline prices throughout the entire United States."

(snip)

On Tuesday, a gallon of gasoline traded in the Houston-based Gulf Coast physical marketing hub cost about $3.15 a gallon -- sharply higher than the national average retail price of about $2.60 a gallon.

Traders were reluctant to guess how high the wholesale spike will make prices at the pump but some say it's safe to bet that the price of a gallon of regular self-service gasoline in the United States will top $3 per gallon by next week.

(more at link)
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/energy_gasoline_prices_dc