NEW YORK, May 5: US refiners’ glittering profits are expected to jump this year as robust demand growth from motorists and recurring snags at aging plants push fuel prices near record territory, analysts said.

Gasoline pump prices shot above $3.00 a gallon on Friday, about a nickel below the all-time peak, according to the AAA travel group, as the nation's creaking refining system of some 130 aging complexes strains to meet demand.

“The profit outlook is incredible, the refinery margins are significantly higher than last year or the past three years,” Fadel Gheit, an analyst with Oppenheimer& Co., told Reuters.