The price of oil is up with much higher prices expected for 2011
The New Year started with crude oil prices at a 26 month high, and it’s anticipated higher prices are still to come. Prices climbed 1.8 cents at the pump in the last seven days. Now the national average sits right at $3.07 a gallon. Residents in Los Angeles, Chicago and New York can expect to pay closer to $3.16-$3.33 a gallon. The cheapest gas can be found in Denver, Houston and Boston.
The current price for crude oil is $92.66 a barrel. The last time it went above $92 a barrel was in October 2008 when it closed at $93.88. In September of 2008 it closed at $100.64 a barrel.
Analysts are trying to decide how high it might climb this year. Some think it’s going to settle in at $90 a barrel, which is much higher than 2010 where it was $75 to $85 a barrel. Others think it’s going to be higher than $100 a barrel at a spring peak.
Experts are not sure how this is going to affect travel as spring comes, which is typically when prices go up.
For those that invest, Carl Larry, president of Oil Outlooks & Opinions LLC in Houston, said that oil could be one of the best investments of 2011. “Investors want to get in fast and get in early. Any way you look at it, oil is going to be in demand this year,” Larry said.
