Relief from record gasoline weeks away: U.S.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - American motorists will have to wait for weeks before they get relief from record high pump prices, the government's top energy forecaster said Tuesday.

The national average price for regular unleaded gasoline hit a record $3.10 per gallon this week amid strong demand and dwindling stockpiles after a stretch of refinery breakdowns and a slump in imports, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

Retail prices will go even higher heading into the summer vacation season because not all of the recent rise in wholesale fuel costs has been reflected in what consumers pay at the pump, said EIA head Guy Caruso.

"There is still some wholesale price run-up that has not been passed through," Caruso told reporters at a Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing on summer gasoline prices. He declined to speculate how much higher fuel costs will go.

Consumers will eventually get some price relief as U.S. fuel producers boost production and high prices attract imports.

"With refinery production expected to improve during the rest of May and import volumes increasing over the last few weeks, gasoline markets may ease somewhat, causing gasoline prices to recede from their current high levels," Caruso told lawmakers.

However, Caruso warned that the EIA expected "gasoline markets to remain fairly tight this summer."

About 800,000 barrels per day in U.S. crude oil refining capacity is currently offline, which translates into about 400,000 barrels a day in lost gasoline production, EIA senior oil analyst Joanne Shore told reporters after the hearing.

"It is an unusually high amount," she said, adding that normally less than 100,000 barrels a day in oil refining capacity is out during this time of year.

EIA is the independent forecasting and analytical arm of the U.S. Energy Department.

The AAA motorist group told lawmakers it was concerned about the number and frequency of refinery outages this year "in light of the large profits the industry has been reporting."

AAA spokesman Geoff Sundstrom said it was "troubling" that the United States is not able to supply enough gasoline to meet domestic demand.

"Americans should be able to expect that those who refine oil into gasoline do a better job of anticipating demand growth, plan to meet that growth, and then make the necessary investments in plants, equipment and labor to provide the fuel at a cost that has some semblance of stability," Sundstrom said.

Oil companies are expanding their U.S. refineries, but a new refinery has not been built since the 1970s. The industry cites community opposition to new refineries and government regulations that make it too costly and difficult to construct facilities.

However, the planned refinery expansions over the next five years are not expected to keep up with the growth in U.S. petroleum demand, according to the EIA.

High gasoline prices are pinching the pocketbooks of Americans, helping to reduce sales last month at Wal-Mart and other retailers.

"When gas prices increase, there is less money to spend on other things," said Sundstrom. "The extra expense results in a sacrifice elsewhere in a family's budget -- groceries, healthcare, college saving, retirement planning."

Sen. Jeff Bingaman, the Democrat who chairs the energy panel, acknowledged: "The U.S. economy remains vulnerable to oil and gasoline supply disruptions and associated price increases."

The top Republican on the committee, Sen. Pete Domenici, said there was no "silver bullet" that would bring down rising gasoline prices this summer.

The solution for the long term, he said, is to increase drilling access to America's oil reserves and develop alternative fuels to reduce U.S. gasoline consumption.