Gasoline futures rose by more than 5 percent yesterday, reaching $1.9787 a gallon, their highest since May 23. That followed a report that the Philadelphia Energy Solutions plant, the largest east coast refinery, is expected permanently shut its oil refinery in the city after a massive fire caused substantial damage to the complex.
Shutting the refinery, the largest and oldest on the U.S. East Coast, would result in not only hundreds of lost jobs but also sharply higher gasoline prices as gasoline supplies are squeezed in the busiest, most densely populated corridor of the United States.
AAA warned that the closure would likely affect retail gasoline prices here in New Jersey very soon. Motorists in the mid-Atlantic region will likely continue to see modest increases in pump prices, AAA said, especially leading up to what is expected to be a high-demand travel period for the Fourth of July.
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