Energy Sector Roundup: Gas up

Gasoline Tops $3.75 at the Pump

Gasoline pump prices soared above $3.75 a gallon and oil prices fell as an Energy Department report painted a mixed picture of the nation's petroleum reserves.

Light, sweet crude for June delivery fell $1.58 to settle at $124.22 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

At the pump, the average national price of a gallon of regular gas rose 2.6 cents overnight to a record $3.758 a gallon, according to AAA and the Oil Price Information Service. Gas prices are 67 cents higher than a year ago, and are expected to continue rising at least until the Memorial Day weekend.

June gasoline futures fell 1.96 cents to settle at $3.1804 a gallon.

In other Nymex trading, heating oil futures fell 8.11 cents to settle at $3.6178 a gallon, and June natural gas futures rose 17.6 cents to settle at $11.598 per 1,000 cubic feet.

EIA Says Gasoline Supplies Fell More Than Expected

In its weekly report, the Energy Department's Energy Information Administration (EIA) said gasoline inventories fell by 1.7 million barrels, or 0.8 percent, to 210.2 million barrels last week -5.9 percent above year-ago levels, the Energy Department's Energy Information Administration said in its weekly report.

Analysts expected stockpiles of gasoline to fall by only 800,000 barrels, according to a survey by Platts, the energy research arm of McGraw-Hill Cos.