NEW YORK, Feb 21 (Reuters) - Motorists in the United States should not blame Big Oil for a recent spike in gasoline prices, but rather a "perfect storm" in the petroleum industry that has cut deeply into global supplies, the American Petroleum Institute (API), an oil industry body, said on Friday.
"There have been calls about price gouging by the industry, but the facts don't support those claims," said API president Red Cavaney at a conference in New York. "The consumer doesn't understand the complexity of the situation, but only sees the prices at the pump moving up and down."
U.S. gasoline prices have surged 20 cents in a month to an average of $1.66 a gallon, within a nickel of all-time highs, as prices in some major cities breach the $2 mark, according to the American Automobile Association (AAA).
The AAA, the nation's largest motorist and travel group, joined some lawmakers last week in warning the oil industry against gouging consumers at the fuel pumps, and called the recent spike unjustified.
The API, which represents members of the U.S. oil industry, including No. 1 oil firm Exxon Mobil, said on Friday the jump in pump prices can be attributed directly to an increase in crude prices, which have been bolstered by declining inventories and fears over war on Iraq.
"We refer to it as the perfect storm," said Cavaney.
Crude oil prices have jumped 35 percent to $35.60 a barrel since early December, when key oil supplier Venezuela was gripped by a national anti-government strike that crippled its petroleum industry and U.S.-bound shipments.
"Since early December, crude oil prices have risen the equivalent of 29 cents a gallon and gasoline prices have risen 29 cents a gallon," said Cavaney, noting that retail fuel prices traditionally track prices for their raw source.
Venezuela supplied the United States with more than 13 percent of its total crude oil imports before the strike. The Venezuelan oil industry is slowly reviving its production, though a full recovery is likely to take longer than six months, according to the API.
Meanwhile, cold weather in the Northern hemisphere, particularly in the U.S. Northeast, has bolstered global oil demand at a time when Washington is pushing toward war on oil supplier Iraq, which it accuses of producing weapons of mass destruction in violation of U.N. sanctions.
"You have a variety of factors, any one of which could have an impact on oil markets," said Cavaney.