Rose Rougeau Wholesale Quotations

The price of gasoline at the wholesale level declined sharply last week and there continues to be downward pressure on gas in Texas. Motorists may be in for a few weeks of slightly lower prices. But toward the end of the month, it's likely that pump prices will resume an upward arc.

Retail gasoline prices have gone up 15 cents in the past two weeks. The increases can be traced to investor speculation leading to higher prices for both crude and wholesale gasoline. With crude trading around $64 a barrel, it doesn't appear likely gasoline will fall below $2 a gallon anytime soon.

Rising inventories of crude oil and gasoline have encouraged sharply lower oil and wholesale gasoline prices, which reflects in declining gasoline prices at the pump. Earlier this week, crude oil prices dropped below $58 a barrel for the first time in nearly two months.