Gas Prices Up to $3.06, 5 Cents From Record
May 5th, 2007 | by Brian Carr |Just five days after breaking the $3 barrier, the national average gas price is only a shiny nickel away from breaking the all-time record of $3.11 set in September 2005 shortly after Hurricane Katrina… and it’s only the beginning of May!
As of Saturday morning, the national average gas price for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline had jumped to $3.06, up nearly ten cents (roughly 3%) from a week ago and 16 cents (roughly 5.5%) higher than at the same point last year.
Currently, Washington, D.C. and 23 states - nearly half of the country - are reporting an average gas price above $3 per gallon. Mississippi has the lowest average gas price at $2.82 per gallon, while California continues to have the nation’s highest average gas price at $3.49 per gallon.
In looking at where gas prices were one year ago ($2.90) and what last summer’s highest average price ended up being ($3.07), it would seem that at the very least we can expect another 6% increase in the price of gasoline before the summer is through. That means that we should expect the national average gas price to be peak at at least $3.25 per gallon.
If something were to flair up and geopolitical tensions were to increase - especially with Middle Eastern countries - or problems were to continue at oil refineries, that $3.25 estimate could quickly turn into a $4.25 estimate. Needless to say, we’re walking a very thin tightrope, and even the slightest disturbance could cause gas prices to shoot up 25% or more.
Regardless, it’s only a matter of time before the record highs established in 2005 are shattered. In all likelihood, we’ll probably be above the record at some point next week.
