Sandy not expected to affect gas prices

By Zack Colman - 10/30/12 07:55 PM ET

Refinery shutdowns on the East Coast resulting from Hurricane Sandy are not expected to affect gas prices, experts said Tuesday.

Dormant cities — stripped of electricity, public transportation and motorists — negated the supply crunch that traders had expected leading up to the storm, analysts said in various news reports.

That could lessen the chance of a gas price spike in the final week before the Nov. 6 election.

GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney has often mentioned that average prices were $1.89 per gallon when President Obama took office in January 2009. On Tuesday, prices for regular unleaded fuel averaged $3.53 per gallon nationally, according to AAA.

Much like Tuesday, the January 2009 prices represented a drop in overall energy demand. At that time, the drop was a result of the global economic downturn.

Optimism that demand would soon rebound, combined with refineries restarting Tuesday, raised crude oil futures from their lowest price since July 10. December deliveries increased 14 cents to $85.68 per gallon Tuesday on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

RBOB gasoline futures for November delivery dropped 2.8 cents, or 1 percent, to about $2.73 per gallon.

And Brent crude for December delivery fell 36 cents to $109.08 per barrel.

Phillips 66’s Linden, N.J., refinery remained closed Tuesday, according to the Energy Department. It accounts for 238,000 barrels a day of the region’s 1,100,200 barrels per day capacity of crude oil refining.