Pump Price: Despite Recent Fall, Gas Likely to Top $3 By Summer
February 25, 2010 by Colin Bird
The average price of gas in America rose by about 10 cents and now stands at $2.71 per gallon, according to Gasbuddy.com. Before this week, America had experienced a lull in the steady rise of gas prices. This marks the first spike in gas prices since January 11th.
The average price for gasoline has a variance of 13 cents depending on what region you live in: East Coast prices are $2.88, Midwest $2.79, Gulf Coast $2.79, Rocky Mountains $2.83 and the West Coast at $2.92.
The most expensive gas in the contiguous United States is in San Francisco, California, where the average is $2.98 per gallon. The cheapest gas is in Tulsa, Oklahoma at $2.409 per gallon.
Interestingly, Oklahoma has had the cheapest gas since the Pump Price series started and that’s not a coincidence. After all, Tulsa wasn’t known as the “Oil Capital of the World” for nothing.
Oklahoma is the fifth-largest producer of oil and has the fifth-largest reserves with large oil pipelines traversing the state and refineries dotting the landscape. Despite a relatively high state gas tax, gasoline remains cheap in Oklahoma overall, at $2.52 a gallon.
Gas prices should continue to rise over the course of 2010. The Department of Energy forecasts that the annual average for gas will rise to $2.84 in 2010 and $2.97 in 2011. This is due to a tightening of global oil supply as the economy begins to pick up again
Since gas prices are cyclical, peaking in the summer and bottoming out in the winter, get used to the idea of an average of $3 per gallon this spring and summer.
Sources: Gasbuddy.com and the Department of Energy
Images by: Andrew Walensa
