Gas prices in the Bradenton-Sarasota-Venice market fell Friday but oil prices briefly hit their highest level this year.
A gallon of regular was selling for $2.615, down from $2.616 the previous day, AAA reported. That compared with $2.647 a week ago and $2.463 a month ago.
Benchmark crude for October delivery rose 98 cents to settle at $73.89.
After Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said that the U.S. economy is nearing a recovery and other economic data backed him up, oil prices briefly neared $75.
But natural gas plummeted yet again, which suggests some skepticism about an economic rebound. Natural gas is used by major industries to power factories.
Yet oil started climbing early in the morning after financial information company Markit said its composite purchasing managers' index showed the European economy was stabilizing.
"If Europe's coming out of recession, the euro could get even stronger," analyst Phil Flynn said. "That means more demand for oil."
The dollar fell against the euro to end the week, effectively making dollar-based oil cheaper across the globe. That created its own momentum and drew a lot of investor money into crude, meaning the price for gasoline and other fuels will likely move up as well.
In addition to the falling dollar and other upward pressures on energy prices, new housing data showed that people are buying.
Just as Bernanke began to speak, the National Association of Realtors said that home resales posted the largest monthly increase in at least 10 years, which may have helped push energy prices higher.
Crude this year has tended to jump at even marginally good economic news. It has been slightly more than a year since a barrel of crude soared close to $150 per barrel and few people believe that at some point, demand for energy will not rebound strongly.
The question is when.
Earlier this week, the U.S. government reported that crude in storage, which had been building for weeks, fell by a surprising 8.4 million barrels as refiners cut back on petroleum imports. Crude prices jumped sharply.
In other Nymex trading, gasoline for September delivery added 1.34 cents to settle at $1.9956 a gallon and heating oil for September delivery added 1.97 cents to settle at $1.9049 a gallon. Natural gas for September delivery tumbled another 14.1 cents to settle at $2.804 per 1,000 cubic feet.
In London, Brent prices rose 95 cents to $74.28 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.
