Still six weeks before the onset of summer driving season, gasoline prices in Denver and several other Colorado cities reached record highs Wednesday.
Denver’s average price for self-service regular was $3.29 a gallon. The previous record of $3.28 was set last May 22, according to AAA.
The average price in Colorado was $3.34, a fraction of a cent lower than the record from May.
Truckers and other users of diesel fuel are being hit even harder, with the state’s average price Wednesday at $4.05 a gallon, a record that was up nearly $1 a gallon from last year.
Fuel costs are following increases in crude-oil prices. Light, sweet crude on the New York Mercantile Exchange closed Wednesday at a record $114.93 a barrel.
The increase is being driven by a combination of growing world demand for oil, the weak U.S. dollar and traders speculating on crude futures.
Speculation is distorting oil markets, placing a burden on consumers and on fuel retailers whose profit margins are “razor thin,” said Mark Larson, executive director of the Colorado Wyoming Petroleum Marketers Association.
“In my opinion, the speculation issue is huge,” Larson said.
His group and other petroleum-marketing associations are lobbying for tighter federal regulations on alleged manipulation of oil prices.
Larson said that barring major economic upheavals that could dampen demand, consumers are likely to see higher oil and fuel prices as Memorial Day weekend approaches, signaling the start of the summer driving season.
Some analysts have predicted $4-a-gallon gasoline this year.
The national average price for gasoline Wednesday was $3.40 a gallon. New Jersey had the cheapest gas at $3.14, with California the most expensive at $3.81, according to AAA.
Steve Raabe: 303-954-1948 or sraabe@denverpost.com
