ad info

 
CNN.comTranscripts
 
Editions | myCNN | Video | Audio | Headline News Brief | Feedback  

 

  Search
 
 

 

TOP STORIES

Bush signs order opening 'faith-based' charity office for business

Rescues continue 4 days after devastating India earthquake

DaimlerChrysler employees join rapidly swelling ranks of laid-off U.S. workers

Disney's GO.com is a goner

(MORE)

MARKETS
4:30pm ET, 4/16
144.70
8257.60
3.71
1394.72
10.90
879.91
 


WORLD

U.S.

POLITICS

LAW

TECHNOLOGY

ENTERTAINMENT

 
TRAVEL

ARTS & STYLE



(MORE HEADLINES)
 
CNN Websites
Networks image


Morning News

Consumers Hope for a Break From OPEC

Aired March 27, 2000 - 10:31 a.m. ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: U.S. hopes are high for the OPEC meeting taking place today in Vienna, Austria. Oil ministers are said to be close to reaching a consensus on increasing oil output. Such a move would eventually provide some relief for consumers struggling with high oil and gasoline prices.

BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: With gas prices on the rise and the summer travel season just around the corner, motorists are looking for a break out there.

From San Francisco, here's CNN's Don Knapp reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DON KNAPP, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): San Francisco gas prices are the highest in the nation. Stations here are keeping prices below $2.00 a gallon, but not by much. And motorists are paying because they have little choice.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, I cannot stop driving, I have to use, you know, my car. But, I'm trying, you know, like I said, I'm trying not to use my car as much as I do before, so I can save a little bit.

KNAPP: Over the past two weeks, gasoline prices have risen only half a cent according to industry analyst Trilby Lundberg. And she believes price increases may be coming to an end.

Gas prices in Wichita, Kansas, now at a $1.38 a gallon, look like a bargain next to San Francisco's average of a $1.90. And while the national average of $1.60 is about 30 cents a gallon less than San Francisco's, it's still well above what motorists were paying just a few months ago. The reason? Last year's cut in production by oil exporting countries. The world's supply is down 4 million barrels a day. That translates to higher gasoline prices.

U.S. Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott blames the Clinton administration for not taking action.

SEN. TRENT LOTT (R-MS), MAJORITY LEADER: We don't have an energy plan for the future. We're now dependent for up to 54 percent of our oil use imported. That is dangerous. And we've known for 20 years that this was coming. And now we're at the mercy of the same countries we went to war to defend because they turned off the spigot or turned it down. People want to know what we're going to do about it.

KNAPP: Secretary of State Madeleine Albright says the administration has been working on it.

MADELEINE ALBRIGHT, SECRETARY OF STATE: What we've been doing is consulting with the producing countries in order to try to get a way for them to make a decision to stabilize prices that would be suitable for consumers as well as the producers.

KNAPP: OPEC representatives meeting in Vienna are expected to increase production, but some observers wonder if it will be enough to produce a drop in gas prices anytime soon.

Don Knapp, CNN, San Francisco.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com

 Search   


Back to the top  © 2001 Cable News Network. All Rights Reserved.
Terms under which this service is provided to you.
Read our privacy guidelines.