Gas At $6 A Gallon This Summer? It Could Happen, Analyst Warns
The $5 price point had already been reached Wednesday at a station in Washington, D.C. Karen Bleier /AFP/Getty Images hide caption
The $5 price point had already been reached Wednesday at a station in Washington, D.C.
Karen Bleier /AFP/Getty ImagesA weak dollar, ongoing troubles in the Middle East and North Africa and rising demand from strengthening economies could combine this summer to push average gasoline prices in the U.S. not just above $4 or $5 a gallon, but all the way to $6, energy strategist Richard Hastings tells CNBC.
The Associated Press reports that nationally, the average price for a gallon of regular gas was $3.84 on Wednesday, according to AAA — though (since that is an average, after all) it's already higher in some places.
The wire service also notes that other analysts don't buy into Hastings' prediction, in part because there are already signs that Americans are curbing the number of miles they drive — which should temper demand for gas. "I don't think we'll get to $4 per gallon nationally," says Fred Rozell, the retail pricing director at OPIS.