ShareThisGasoline prices continue to set records across the nation, but the daily increases are getting smaller and there are signs that prices could be nearing a peak.After peaking at $135.09 last Thursday, crude retreated. California prices were up minimally early this week, and reports of significant declines in consumption sent crude oil prices down $3.34 a barrel, to $128.85.The California average for self-serve regular hit $4.12 on Tuesday, according to AAA, up a fraction of a cent. Denton Cinquegrana, an analyst who follows West Coast markets for the Oil Price Information Service, said he doubts prices will go much beyond $4.20."There's probably not too much upside left," he said. "Obviously, crude oil dropping down below $130 ... is a step in the right direction." Yet he said crude could reverse itself and move back up.On Tuesday traders were influenced by reports saying consumption is falling, including a Federal Highway Administration study that said Americans drove 4.3 percent fewer miles in March than the year before, the first drop since 1979.(E-mail Dale Kasler at dkaslser@sacbee.com)(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, www.scrippsnews.com.)
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