A surprise decline in U.S. crude supplies pushed oil futures to $112.21 a barrel Wednesday before settling at $110.87, both records that could doom drivers to even higher pump prices.
Predictions of $4 gasoline have already come true at a smattering of service stations around California, including a Chevron in downtown Los Angeles where self-serve regular began the day at $4.139 a gallon before rising to $4.199.
Wednesday’s $2.37 price jump for the May crude contract probably won’t be the end of the surge, with some traders and analysts predicting oil as high as $120 a barrel in the coming days. Gasoline, heating oil and jet fuel also set records in futures trading and some spot markets. Retail gasoline and diesel prices are at or near records across most of the country, according to AAA’s daily survey of fuel prices.
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