Gas Prices on the Rise, Crude Ends Week Strong

FILE - In this Nov. 12, 2008 file photo, an oil pump seen in constant motion in the oilfields of...

FILE - In this Nov. 12, 2008 file photo, an oil pump seen in constant motion in the oilfields of Sakhir, in the Gulf state of Bahrain. Oil prices surged to a 2009 high Wednesday, May 6, 2009, after a government report showed that unused crude being placed in storage slowed a bit last week. (AP Photo/Hasan Jamalim,file)

(AP)

Oil prices appeared headed for the strongest week so far this year on better-than-expected unemployment numbers and what some experts believe may be overly optimistic expectations about the country's appetite for energy.

Retail gasoline prices, which had lingered around $2 per for weeks, climbed for the eighth straight day.

Benchmark crude for June delivery rose $1.92 to settle at $58.63 a barrel, its top closing price this year on the New York Mercantile Exchange. In London, Brent prices rose $1.67 to settle at $58.14 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.

Pump prices increased 2.8 cents overnight to a new national average of $2.169 a gallon, according to auto club AAA, Wright Express and Oil Price Information Service. Gas costs 12.2 cents more per a gallon than last month, but it's $1.476 a gallon cheaper than a year ago.

Outside of the summer driving season, however, experts say it's hard to justify the wave of optimism that's been driving up energy prices.

"People are cherry picking the numbers right now because they're looking for good news," said Michael Lynch, president of Strategic Energy & Economic Research. "You usually don't see a bubble re-inflate like this. The market has gotten ahead of itself."

It's been less than a year since oil prices neared a staggering $150 per barrel and retail gasoline hit a national average above $4. But energy prices crashed after July, and crude was trading at five-year lows just two months ago.

The government continued to issue reports this week that influenced energy prices, but in which direction depended largely on how the data was interpreted.

For example, the Energy Information Administration said the nation's oil surplus grew less than expected, which is typically gives energy prices a boost. But levels rose nonetheless, meaning storage houses were bloated with more crude than has been seen in nearly 19 years. Growing levels of unused crude in most cases would drive energy prices down.