Gas could hit $4 this summer
Published April 8, 2008 by CSBJ Staff
The Associated Press
NEW YORK _ Retail gas prices could climb as high as $4 a gallon this summer, which could make Americans think twice about hitting the road, the Energy Department said today.
High prices and a weak economy are expected to cut demand for gasoline by about 0.4 percent during the peak summer driving season, the department’s Energy Information Administration said in a monthly report on petroleum supplies and demand. Overall consumption of petroleum products will drop by 90,000 barrels a day this year. Previously, the EIA had projected petroleum consumption would rise by 40,000 barrels a day.
Average monthly gas prices will peak around $3.60 a gallon in June, the EIA said. However, prices could rise much higher than that at times.
“It is important to note … that even if the national average monthly gasoline price peaks around $3.60 per gallon this summer, it is possible that prices at some point will cross the $4 per gallon threshold,” the EIA said.
The government had previously estimated that average monthly prices would peak near $3.50 a gallon.
Filed under CSBJ Daily, Energy