Last week, the effects of Hurricane Rita compounded the effects of Hurricane Katrina on the gas market here in Raleigh. A few statistics:
? On Tuesday, Sept. 28, retail gasoline in Raleigh on Hwy. 401/So. Saunders St. (on my commute) was at $2.83/gal.
?On Wed. 9/28 the NYMEX gasoline futures close peaked at 2.3393/gal.
? On Thurs. 9/29 the NYMEX crude oil futures close peaked at 66.79.
? On Fri. 9/30 retail gas prices ranged from $2.99 to $3.07.
Since their peaks last week, crude oil and gasoline futures have declined ? crude oil closed at 61.36 yesterday, and gasoline closed at 1.8405 (this being a 21.3 percent decline). Nevertheless, the range of gas prices here is $2.98 to $2.99.