Saudis Promise Modest Boost in Oil Production

Copyright © 2008 National Public Radio®. For personal, noncommercial use only. See Terms of Use. For other uses, prior permission required.

RENEE MONTAGNE, host:

And oil markets are up again this morning, despite a promise from Saudi Arabia that it may boost production. The hope is that a boost in supplies will lower the price of oil and gas. Drivers are now paying an average of $4.10 for a gallon of self-serve regular gas. Here's NPR's Curt Nickisch.

CURT NICKISCH: There's movement on both sides of the supply-demand curve. The world's largest oil producer, Saudi Arabia, is promising to boost production modestly. At Alaron Trading, Phil Flynn says more supply should bring prices down.

Mr. PHIL FLYNN (Alaron Trading): Obviously more oil is what the market's asking for. It's going to help. It could bring prices down maybe a nickel or dime at the pump.

NICKISCH: And declining demand may bring prices down further. A Massachusetts energy forecasting firm expects Americans will use less gasoline this year than they did last year. Cambridge Energy Research Associates says people are driving less and are starting to look for more fuel efficient cars. But at a gas station just around the corner from that firm, drivers were more deflated than elated.

Ms. LIZ REZNICK(ph) (Gas consumer): I'm not jumping for joy.

NICKISCH: Liz Reznick says a few cents of price relief doesn't bring the cost of gas close to where it was.

Ms. REZNICK: I'm just trying to get the gas light to go off. And it used to take $5.00 to do that. Now it takes $20. Prices need to go down - a lot.

NICKISCH: To hope for a lot is probably too much. Consumers will get a better sense of the long term outlook when the Department of Energy releases its annual forecast this week.

Curt Nickisch, NPR News, Boston.

Copyright © 2008 National Public Radio®. All rights reserved. No quotes from the materials contained herein may be used in any media without attribution to National Public Radio. This transcript is provided for personal, noncommercial use only, pursuant to our Terms of Use. Any other use requires NPR's prior permission. Visit our permissions page for further information.

NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by a contractor for NPR, and accuracy and availability may vary. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Please be aware that the authoritative record of NPR's programming is the audio.