With the current nationwide average for the price of gas is $3.314 a gallon, according to the American Automobile Association, Patrick De Haan, the head of petroleum at GasBuddy, predicted that the average could rise to $4 a gallon by spring 2022 and that a new non-inflation adjusted record for the price could be reached.
Fox Business’ Stuart Varney asked De Haan, “Could we get to $4 a gallon by this spring?”
“Oh, absolutely, Stuart,” De Haan answered. “I think we could get a little bit beyond that. In fact, we could set a non-inflation adjusted record for the price of gasoline if we eclipse $4.11 a gallon. So we’re already starting to see the needle move up. We’re up six cents a gallon from just a couple of weeks ago. We are starting to roll closer to that number now. Keep in mind most of that pain is going to come in March, April and May. So this is the calm before the storm and we’re already going up.”
“Do you guys cover or analyze natural gas, cause I’ve noticed an uptick in the price recently, and I’m wondering if you’ve got a forecast of much higher prices still to come?” Varney asked.
“I think, Stuart, natural gas prices will start cooling off, inventories in the U.S. look good,” De Haan replied. “Of course, a lot of our natural gas has been heading over to Europe to alleviate a natural gas crunch that’s been developing here. Natural gas prices still 65% higher. Stuart, I just got my first natural gas bill, 67% , or $100 a month higher. That’s what households are going to be facing: natural gas bills likely to be $75 to $150 more a month than they were a year ago.”
“That’s energy price inflation writ large in America,” Varney commented.
“Hold on. It’s going to be a bumpy year ahead,” De Hann responded.
De Haan told FOX Business on Tuesday there will likely be a surge in gas prices in March, “along with refiners doing maintenance ahead of the summer driving season, creating a squeeze” that would trigger a “much more pronounced increase in prices.”
“De Haan projected that there may be an increase of 10 to 20 cents per gallon every month until May, when the national average could hit or even surpass $4 a gallon,” Fox Business noted.
“U.S. gas prices have risen as a result of the jump in oil futures and have been compounded by inflation. On Jan. 18, gas prices averaged $3.314 per gallon, up from $2.386 this time last year,” GoBankingRates.com stated.
“California has the highest-priced gas at $4.650, while Texas has the lowest at $2.942. In New York state, it is currently $3.39,” The Daily Mail noted.
Newsweek reported in mid-November, “Gas prices have risen to their highest levels in seven years as U.S. consumers face the steepest inflation since 1990. The national average for a gallon of gas hit $3.42 this week—a price last reached in September 2014. According to the AAA, the average price is 16 cents more than a month ago, $1.31 more than a year ago, and 80 cents more than in 2019.”