A record plunge in gasoline stockpiles last week is threatening to raise pump prices across America above $3 a gallon for the first time in six years. Inventories fell by 13.6 million barrels — the most in weekly data that goes back to 1990 — after a deep freeze paralyzed much of the Gulf Coast refining sector, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Demand for the fuel meanwhile rose by the most since May. Even before the cold blast crimped gasoline production, restraint from OPEC and the U.S. shale patch had sent crude futures — and in turn fuel prices — skyrocketing. The higher costs are hitting just as demand is rebounding with states lifting pandemic restrictions and coronavirus vaccines becoming more widely available. If more gasoline supplies […]