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| State | Candidate | Delegates |
|---|---|---|
 Donald Trump | ||
Pennsylvania |  Joe Biden |
Gasoline prices rise to a record $3.30 and head higher
NEW YORK -- Retail gasoline prices surged to a record above $3.30 a gallon Friday and appear poised to rise further in coming weeks as gasoline supplies tighten.
Oil prices, meanwhile, supported the gas price rally, jumping more than $2 a barrel after a dismal employment report sent the dollar lower.
At the pump, gas prices rose 1.4 cents overnight to a national average of $3.303 a gallon, according to AAA and the Oil Price Information Service. That's the latest in a series of records, and about 60 cents higher than a year ago.
While oil's surge above $100 a barrel the last month has boosted gasoline prices so far this year, analysts now expect gas prices to continue rising regardless of what direction crude takes. The Energy Department expects prices to peak near $3.50 a gallon later in the spring, but many analysts predict the spike could approach $4.
That's because gasoline supplies are falling, in part because producers are cutting back production due to the high cost of crude — the more expensive crude is, the more refiners have to pay and the lower their profit.
They're also in the process of switching over from producing winter grades of gasoline to the less polluting but more expensive grade of fuel they're required to sell in the summer.
"That cuts back on some of the supply and helps to pump up the price," says Mike Pina, a spokesman for AAA.
The margin between the price refiners pay for crude and what they get for selling the products they make from it is around $11 to $12 a barrel right now, according to the Oil Price Information Service. However, that margin has slipped into negative territory some days and is well below margins of $37 a barrel refiners earned last spring.
On Thursday, ConocoPhillips said high crude prices were significantly hurting refining margins. Last week, Valero Energy cut output at its Corpus Christi, Texas, refinery due to high supplies and falling demand. Analysts believe many other refiners are adopting similar tactics.
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