Big Oil says get ready for $5 gas next week, 'thanks to Gustav'

[Newsjock]

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2008/08/27/financial/f083210D97.DTL&tsp=1

NEW YORK (AP) -- Retail gas prices swung higher Friday — the first increase in 43 days — as analysts warned that a direct hit on U.S. energy infrastructure by Tropical Storm Gustav could send pump prices hurtling toward $5 a gallon.

... Fears about another monster storm have sent wholesale gasoline prices shooting up in the Gulf region, forcing filling stations to pass on the costs by raising pump prices ahead of Labor Day weekend.

Jeff Rubin, chief economist at investment bank CIBC World Markets, said that record could be shattered if Gustav seriously disrupts offshore energy production.

... "The price consequences could be even worse this time," Rubin said in a report, noting that oil and gasoline inventories are lower than when Katrina and Rita hit. "Any replays of the 2005 storm season could see gasoline prices soar to $5 per gallon."

[Cooley Hurd]

1. Gas specs have surged since McBigoil picked the wife of a BP exec...

;)