recent price factors in the U.S.

Global supply and demand for crude oil and petroleum products has the biggest influence on the price of gasoline at the pump in the U.S.

For March 2008, crude oil costs made up over 70 percent of the cost of every gallon of gasoline.

• Sixteen percent of recent gas prices were for refining, transportation and marketing. Federal, state and local taxes accounted for about 12 percent of the price.
• Americans are driving more. Gasoline consumption in the U.S. averaged a record high of approximately 9.3 million barrels per day in 2007, up about 0.4 percent from 2006 levels.
• The industry has increased refining capacity through the expansion of existing plants, adding the equivalent of a large new refinery every year for the past decade. Capacity has expanded over the past two years by 300,000 barrels a day, according to the American Petroleum Institute.
• Since 1995, ExxonMobil has effectively added the equivalent refining capacity of a new, industry-average-size refinery to our portfolio every three years.