Memorial Day weekend is the traditional start of the summer driving season. Leading up to this year’s holiday, the national average retail price for regular gasoline is $3.67 per gallon (gal), as it was this time last year. After increasing 42 cents/gal from early February to $3.71/gal in late April, gasoline prices have fallen modestly in recent weeks as increasing refinery crude oil throughput and higher imports have added supplies to the market. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Gasoline and Diesel Fuel Update The price of retail gasoline reflects both the price of crude oil and the wholesale gasoline crack spread (the difference between the price of wholesale gasoline and the price of crude oil). The price of North Sea Brent crude has averaged $109 per barrel (bbl) thus far in May, $6/bbl (14 cents/gal) more than the May 2013 average. However, lower wholesale gasoline crack spreads compared with […]