Oil cartel’s surprise plan to dial back production will likely push up fuel costs within the next two weeks, analysts say.
Oil markets shuddered after a surprise announcement this weekend that Saudi Arabia and other oil-producing countries would , potentially pushing up gas prices just as millions of Americans hit the road this summer.
With the price of Brent crude, the international oil standard, jumping about 6% to $85 a barrel on Monday, motorists should expect prices at the pump to rise between 5 cents and 15 cents per gallon within the next two weeks, analysts told CBS MoneyWatch. By summer, the average national price for regular gas is likely to be around $4 a gallon.
If the price of crude stays at or above $80 a barrel, « we could see the national average price move in the 8-to-12 cent range, and we haven’t seen it yet, » AAA spokesperson Andrew Grossman said.
The cost of crude accounts for about half of the overall price of gas, according to the Energy Department. From Sunday to Monday, average gas prices stayed steady at $3.50 a gallon, according to AAA, but Grossman said prices could increase by 5 or 10 cents by the end of the week.
For drivers, « the initial effect will be limited to a ball park of 5-15c/gal, » Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, said on Twitter.
