Prices at Gas Pump on the Rise Again

Berkeley, Calif. (KCBS)  -- Just when things were starting to get a bit cheaper at the pump, oil prices were on the rise early this morning.

The supply and demand balance was actually in consumers' favor earlier this week, after the Energy Department reported a surprising rise in reserves. 

But, crude oil futures were climbing during early trading today.

Severin Borenstein, Director of the UC Energy Institute, tells KCBS he expects more volatility in the long-term crude oil and gasoline markets, but the short-term market looks good right now."These sorts of fluctuations in the dollar up and down, reflect changes in beliefs about the future of supply, which could be coming from tensions in the Middle East. It could be coming from beliefs about potential new supplies that are coming on line or off line in Nigeria and lots of places around the world. It's hard to read any one of these fluctuations and pin it to a specific action," he said.

Borenstein said the day when we're less dependent on oil as our primary transportation fuel source, is still years away and it will require plenty of "political push."