Poll reveals gas pump woes; politicians offer some relief

JAMES T. MADORE, TOM INCANTALUPO, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

May 2, 2008

STATE ACTION? The State Senate is expected as early as next week to take up a Republican-backed bill to suspend the state's gasoline tax this summer, but Gov. David A. Paterson and the Assembly speaker have expressed reservations about it.

The bill, sponsored by state Sen. Andrew Lanza (R-Staten Island), could reduce pump prices by 32 cents a gallon if retailers pass along the savings. It would affect the 16-cent petroleum business tax, 8-cent sales tax and 8-cent motor fuel excise tax from the Friday before Memorial Day through the day after Labor Day. It is expected to pass, then hit a roadblock in the Assembly, where Speaker Sheldon Silver is opposed. Silver questioned whether motorists would see pump prices fall if the bill was enacted. - JAMES T. MADORE

MIXED MESSAGE. The national average price for a gallon of regular went up for the 17th straight time yesterday. But don't despair. Gasoline inventories are strong, refinery output and imports of gasoline are increasing, demand for gasoline is dropping and, over the past few days, crude oil prices and gasoline futures have declined. And the pump price increases at least are slowing down. "Is there cause for optimism that prices are peaking? I think the answer is yes," said Andy Lipow, president of Houston consulting company Lipow Oil Associates LLC. In fact, he thinks a decline of a few cents in coming weeks is not out of the question. For now, the news remains dismal; prices continue to inch upward toward the dreaded $4 level.

- TOM INCANTALUPO

FEELING THE PINCH. Soaring gasoline prices are the top economic concern of state residents, leading many to scrap plans for vacations and fixing their cars, according to a poll released yesterday. The Siena Research Institute, based in upstate Loudonville, found that the spike at the pumps had negatively impacted 51 percent of the 622 people surveyed April 24 through Monday. Even higher percentages said they had reduced their driving time (65 percent) and were saving less (64 percent). Thirty-two percent had postponed auto or home repairs. But most troubling for a state dependent on tourism was the 80 percent of residents saying they would scale back plans for summer vacation. The poll had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.9 percentage points.

- James T. Madore

BIG OIL. Exxon Mobil Corp., the world's largest publicly traded oil company, said yesterday that record crude prices helped its net income grow 17 percent in the first quarter, but the results came in below Wall Street forecasts. Its shares fell $2.32, or 2.5 percent, to $90.75 in premarket trading. The shares fell because the big jump in prices on refined products such as gasoline failed to keep pace with the rapid increase in crude prices. Lower production to start the year hurt, too. Given record oil prices, some had speculated Exxon Mobil would top its own record for the biggest quarter profit for a U.S. company. But the latest results fell short of the record $11.7-billion profit Exxon Mobil earned in the final quarter of 2007.

- THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

THE MAYOR MUSES. Michael Bloomberg said yesterday that the proposal to suspend the gas tax, which is receiving attention on the campaign trail, is one of the most idiotic ideas he's heard in a while. Bloomberg praised Sen. Barack Obama for opposing the plan floated by Sen. John McCain and supported by Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton to suspend the 18.4-cent federal gas tax and 24.2-cent diesel tax during the peak driving months of the summer. "It's about the dumbest thing I've heard ... from an economic point of view," Bloomberg told reporters.

- THE ASSOCIATED PRESS