Will Gas Hit $4 by Spring?

People tend to drive less during the winter, which may be one reason why gas prices remained relatively calm even as oil broke the history-making $100 per barrel mark at the end of 2007.

Well, it was nice while it lasted.

With oil now at a record high of $102.88, gas prices look like they’re ready to catch up, perhaps reaching $4 a gallon in some places by late spring or early summer. The Energy Department says the pain should peak at a national average of $3.40 sometime during the summer, but according to a report by the Detroit News, other experts warn of a $3.50 to $3.75 national average during the height of the summer driving season.

Needless to say, this is not good news for a U.S. economy already hit hard by the twin crises in credit and housing. A newly minted energy shock is the last thing the average American needs right now.

If all of this is depressing you, you’d better skip the rest of this paragraph: The Detroit News also points out that gas prices have quadrupled in the past six years, and that if the world remains on its present course of consumption, oil could reach nearly $140 per barrel by 2015.

Gas Spike Adds to Troubles (Detroit News)