world s economy is getting going and oil supplies are getting tight. it didn t help when he put a kibosh on drilling off of our gulf coast. the kind of permits they delayed that are denied last year could have been coming online now or shortly and doing something to relieve the pressure on prices. the fact is we a problem with energy this is the time of year when gas prices traditionally are relatively low. they start to go up in the spring as more people drive and they get high in the summer when we vacation. if we have $3.52 now you can count on four or five dollars in some parts of the country. sean: he said he wants a gradual increase in gas prices. people seem to forget that. through the prism of the reuters poll. his energy secretary said he wanted european-style gas prices which are eight, nine bucks a gallon.
shepard: i m shepard smith. this is the fox report. it s the bottom of the hour, time for the top of the news. the price of oil retreated slightly today. little consolation to the millions of drivers dealing with skyrocketing gas prices. the average for a gallon of regular hit $3.52 a day, up 15 cents in the last week. up 40 cents in the last month. now some lawmakers are pushing the white house to open the country s strategic oil reserves to help keep prices in check. but several analysts are now arguing that s not a solution. not even in the short-term. peter barnes on the top story at the bottom of the hour live on capitol hill tonight. is the white house giving more consideration to tapping the reserve now? well, shep, the white house is still considering it. but the president s top economists said today that it should be used mainly in large oil supply disruptions and libya s is a small one. there is capacity among other
thank you, james. oil prices dropped again today. april futures fell 64 cents to close at $104.38 a barrel. gas prices were up about a half cent overnight. the national average remains around $3.52 a gallon. with each extra penny or two at the gas pump, the pressure mounts on president obama to do something about it. white house correspondent wendell goler looks at one option gaining momentum. with gasoline prices on their fastest rise since hurricane katrina, president obama is under pressure to tap the nation s strategic petroleum reserve. democratic senator chuck schumer yesterday joined several democrats in the house who said that oil could respond to supply disruption and combat the rapid price escalation. the white house says the idea is on the table. i have nothing specifically to ad except it s an option we re considering. privately the white house officials suggest it s not likely because the price of
reporter: police believe the fire may have started in the kitchen but again still have not determined the cause. back to you. kaitlin smith, thank you so much. of course we ll be watching that story all day on msnbc. turn now to gas prices. looks like gas prices are very high and here to stay. the growing unrest in libya says many force is the energy department to raise the gas price forecast for the spring and summer. hang on to your hats. $3.70 a gallon on average. that forecast is already out of date in some places. this gas station near orlando airport is charging $5.39 a gallon for regular unleaded. but at least we re not paying nearly $8 a gallon like they re forking over in italy where libya s top oil customer. and then right now across the united states, aaa saying we re paying an average of $3.52. 40 cents higher than a month ago
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