Benchmark prices for U.S. crude oil cracked $70 a barrel Monday for the first time since 2014, foreshadowing costlier gasoline and consumer goods. Benchmark U.S. crude rose $1.01 to settle at $70.73 a barrel on the futures market in New York. The international standard, Brent crude, rose $1.30 to $76.17 in London. U.S. consumers have felt the pain of rising crude prices since the start of the year. Gasoline prices, already near the highest level since November 2014, are likely to push even closer to the $3 a gallon mark as the futures market rally filters through to the retail level. The national average for gasoline is now $2.81 a gallon, according to the auto club AAA, and it’s not even the peak driving season yet. Pump prices are up 15 cents from a month ago and 46 cents from a year ago. In Arkansas, the average price for gasoline on Monday was $2.53 a gallon, up from $2.13 a year ago. Gas in the Little Rock and North Little Rock area averaged $2.50 a gallon, according to AAA. Northwest Arkansas motorists saw an average price of $2.49 a gallon. Eventually fuel prices show up in the costs of all sorts of consumer goods that are hauled by plane, train or truck, but oil prices are not yet high enough to derail economic growth, said Diane Swonk, chief economist for accounting firm Grant Thornton LLP. “We are still adding jobs, and that is helping us to absorb it,” she said…. [Read full story]
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