OIL PRICES * USA - Truckers Call on Obama to Tap Offshore Oil

Rising oil, fuel prices seen hurting trucking and the general economy

Washington,DC,USA -The Journal of Commerce Online, by William B. Cassidy -Feb 25, 2011: -- The American Trucking Associations urged the White House to tap domestic energy sources, such as offshore oil deposits, as rising oil prices increased fuel costs... The price of crude oil soared to a two-year high during the week of Feb. 21, rising to nearly $100 a barrel, pushing up the price of diesel, gasoline and aviation fuel... At the start of the week, the average retail price of diesel in the U.S. rose to $3.57, according to the Energy Department's Energy Information Administration... That's a 26 percent increase from a year ago, and a 7 percent increase from Jan. 3. By Feb. 25, diesel hit $4 a gallon in Connecticut... The price spikes were tied to the waves of protests and outright revolution roiling the Middle East, particularly the uprising against Muammar Gaddafi in Libya... Rising fuel prices sting truckers twice, ATA Vice President and Regulatory Affairs Counsel Rich Moskowitz said, first at the pump and then in shipping volume as consumers spend more on energy and less on goods...