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NEW YORK — Exxon Mobil CEO Rex Tillerson said Wednesday he doesn’t think the recent jump in oil prices is hurting the U.S. economy — yet.
At the same time, he acknowledged that gasoline prices are approaching an uncomfortable threshold for American families.
Oil is about $104 per barrel, and the national average for gasoline is now $3.52 per gallon. Drivers on the West Coast are paying close to $4. And the price is expected to rise through spring and into summer.
Tillerson told reporters at the New York Stock Exchange that in 2008 American families appeared to change their driving and spending habits when gasoline hit $4 per gallon that June. Gas peaked at $4.11 in July that year as oil climbed to $147 per barrel.
Tillerson said $4 gas “creates some real challenges” for average American families and their household budgets. When gasoline rises above $4 per gallon, it’s a “significant emotional event for a lot of people,” he said.
“Even if you’re paying $50 a month (for gas), $50 a month is significant for the way they have to manage their income.”
Tillerson remembered that in 2008, Americans switched to taking the bus or joining community carpools to save on gas costs.
The head of the world’s largest publicly traded oil company pinned a recent 24 percent jump in oil prices on fears of production losses from North Africa and the Middle East. Output in Libya, a member of OPEC, has dropped significantly as rebels battle the government of Moammar Gadhafi for control of the country.
Earlier, Tillerson told
Wall Street analysts that Exxon would spend $34 billion this year — nearly $100 million per day — on capital investments that are mostly devoted to oil and natural gas production.