Gas Hits $2 for the First Time Since November
OK, so gas prices hitting $2 per gallon isn’t quite the apocalypse that the summer of ’08 was, when the average price hit an all-time high of $4.11 and this blog recommended you avoid putting your car in Reverse or using the tilt-up mode on your sunroof to save gas.
Still, $2 is the highest AAA’s average has been since November. If you remember, prices began their decline in August and positively cratered after the economic crisis gained steam in October.
Where will prices go from here? As always, that’s a tough call. Fuel-price analyst Tom Kloza told USA Today he saw a high of $2.25 for the second quarter, but there are plenty of X factors. The summer months almost always increase demand for gasoline, and even though the economy is still on life support, this summer is the period when President Barack Obama’s recovery package will begin to rev up.
If the plan increases economic activity as hoped, it will surely place more of a demand on gas and diesel (diesel prices are at $2.20 per gallon right now). This could trigger a price spike, but it’s probably safe to say that the summer of ’08 will stay in the record books for the time being.
Gasoline Price Tops $2 a Gallon, Highest Since November (USA Today)
