Study: Gas prices will be 40% higher than last summer

The federal government is cautioning motorists to prepare for sticker shock at the pump.

By MSN Money Partner Apr 14, 2011 1:24PM

This post comes from Ruth Mantell at partner site MarketWatch.

 

MarketWatch on MSN MoneyGas prices will jump 40% for the summer driving season compared with 2010, according to a federal projection released this week.

Retail prices for a gallon of regular-grade gasoline will average $3.86 from April through September, up from $2.76 for the comparable period last year, said the Energy Information Administration, the statistics arm of the U.S. Department of Energy. Post continues after video.

The national price for gasoline may average $3.86 a gallon in the driving season, the EIA says.

 

In some areas, monthly average prices could top the national average by at least 25 cents a gallon.

 

"The continuing economic recovery tends to boost gasoline and diesel fuel consumption, while the effect of higher retail prices tends to dampen it," according to EIA. "These counterbalancing forces are expected to be prominent features of the summer driving season."

 

According to AAA's daily fuel-gauge report, the national average price for a gallon of regular gasoline is about $3.79, up about 33% from $2.86 a year earlier.

 

The average U.S. household's vehicle fueling costs will rise about $825 from last year's level, hitting $3,360 in 2011, the EIA said.

The government also expects refiner acquisition costs of crude oil to average $112.50 a barrel this summer, up about 50% from the prior year.

 

Meanwhile, wholesale gasoline margins -- the difference between the wholesale price of gas and the refiner acquisition cost of crude -- are forecast to average 53 cents a gallon this summer, up 47% from last year.

 

The catalyst for the increase, according to EIA, will be "continuing strength in worldwide liquid fuels consumption."

 

Read more from MarketWatch and MSN Money:

 

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453Comments
M3663
Apr 14, 2011 1:48PM
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Maybe if the speculators would SHUT UP and stop guessing gas prices would start going down!!  They are a big part of the problem.
SaveOurselves
Apr 14, 2011 3:06PM
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RECESSION HERE WE COME ... AGAIN ...!!! This all started when BIG OIL decided to see how high they could drive the price of gas before it hit the fan ... unfortunately they underestimated the impact and by the time they realized what they had done it was TOO LATE ...!!! Now as gas climbs towards $4.00gal we're about to lose any and all 'recovery' gains achieved over the past 2 years.
When gas is $4.00gal all people can afford is gas and food ... and ALL other spending ceases ..
No more new cars, or trips to the mall .. and then all HELL breaks loose ... no consumer demand
equals a slow down in production which impacts shipping and retail employment and it's all downhill from there ... We desperately need to STABILIZE the price of gas IMMEDIATELY ...!! or face the same consequences as we did in 2008 ...
athena07
Apr 14, 2011 4:38PM
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The more money we keep spending at the pump, the less we spend on everything else.... duh!! Not rocket science... recession is worse than ever and will continue to decline.  When will the govt get it and fix things instead of continuing to put badaids on the cancer of GREED upon this country?  I don't spend any money on anything.... Prices for everything keep going up. I'm about to just walk away from my over priced house, high property taxes, etc. and go live with multiple families.... we're tired of paying for the rich and the poor....... not to mention the people who aren't paying anything... Not gonna do it anymore..... They can shove it!!! We're sick of it!!

BCTitan
Apr 14, 2011 2:07PM
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This is how they get the word to the oil companies/gas companies how much it's okay to charge for gas.   Since Goldman Sachs is running/owning the government, this is probably their decision.  That's how they set their profit for the investment they made in paper oil.  Thanks to Goldman Sachs, and to let them know how much I appreciate them stealing every penny they can from those of us that aren't rich, i.e. 98% of the population, I'm going to buy absolutely nothing I don't absolutely need.  Instead I'll be paying off all my debt.  Then the financial companies can kiss something while trying to get me to finance anything ever again. 

 

Greed made you big, it can also destroy you. 

alski56
Apr 16, 2011 11:21AM
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One thing Obama promised was that energy prices would go through the ceiling, and that is coming to pass. The affects of the $4 a gallon are starting to show up in food prices and everything else. Things are only gonna get worst as we approach $5 a gallon gas. Whoever said that the country's economy can withstand $5 gallon gas is crazy. For the wealthy, gas could get to $10 a gallon and would not matter, but for the working class it is just evermore taking away the American Dream. Deregulation of gas has been a nightmare for the working class. It's so sad to see our country going down the tubes. Everything has come down to money weather it's gas, food or medical cost. I truly believe that you will see a lot of the working class being left to die because of all this. There is no respect of life in this country anymore. We are so concerned about other countries that we let our own people down. I know this first hand because I lost my brother ( middle class worker ) 4 years ago because he couldn't afford medical cost. How many people are being left to die like this by the wayside, and we just cover it up like it's nothing. It's sad, but there is nothing that can be done about it. There is so much greed and corruption in this country right now.
clevelandkid
Apr 14, 2011 2:10PM
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But there are problems in Libya!  (you know - the country that only produces 2% of the worlds oil, the bulk of which is sent to Europe)  Of course the price is up 40% - we have a potential 2% problem!!!!
skinpig
Apr 16, 2011 10:44AM
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God, I hate our government both parties, what has America become?
BeeInKC9
Apr 15, 2011 8:47AM
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Supply and demand haven't really changed. This is all Wall Street manipulation. If gas prices rise to $5 a gallon, you can say goodbye to any hope of economic recovery. It will be Great Depression 2.
vicous truth
Apr 14, 2011 8:30PM
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The majority of ppl in this country dont have the balls to stand up to the govt or the corporations responible for this ****. Until we come together and start forcing

change nothing will ever happen. 

simpleadvice
Apr 15, 2011 7:07AM
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Goodbye economic recovery.   
McGav
Apr 14, 2011 4:50PM
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Ah yes, here we go again.  I love this country, but it's time to start packing.  Government has failed, the deficit and energy prices are out of control, and corporate greed is picking up steam.

 

You would all be amazed how many Americans have sold everything, cashed out, closed their accounts and have moved off shore.  Costa Rica, Southern Mexico, Virgin Islands, yes, enough is enough.

 

If I was close to retiring, I'd be gone too.  I'm tired, and just sick of it all.

Someone (mikejoann98)
Apr 14, 2011 4:43PM
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Well, if we would have started drilling years ago, we wouldn't be making foreigners who hate us rich. 
Save your lies
Apr 15, 2011 1:56PM
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YES the American dream is dead and buried, killed by the greed of a few. sad sad sad.
mike carter
Apr 16, 2011 9:52AM
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Man, WAKE UP AMERICA!!!!!!!!!!!   You folks wanting to boycote an oil company DONT know how it all works. I hauled fuel for years, and they buy from the cheapest broker and haul to their stations across the country.   Price gaugeing USED to be illeagle in the 70s, Now its run away theivery.  The price of a barrel of oil is going DOWN and the price at the pumps is going UP. deisel fuel is a Bi-product of makeing gas, yet its fourty or fifty cents higher then gas. LOL  These power brokers own our country from the top down and WE the people have to make the  change, NOT OUR crooked, special interest owened government.  OBAMA for change???  LOL " CHUMP CHANGE"  I say.  Let the folks in sand land fight their own fights and lets take up OUR fight here at home and  TAKE BACK OUR COUNTRY!!!!!!!!!     in the famous words of J.F.K.  ask NOT what your country can do for you, but what YOU can do for your country.  OR what YOU CAN DO TO TAKE BACK YOUR COUNTRY!!!!                 From one American to ALL others, This is YOUR call to arms.      
gejpm
Apr 14, 2011 5:45PM
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The last time this happened in 08 the price of oil was $145 and I was paying $4 per gallon. Today the Price of oil is $108 and I am paying $3.90!! Something is wrong with this picture besides the price of oil. I guess the Gas companies decided to raise their prices also to make even more on the high price. Wondering why no one mentions this!!
xpert1
Apr 14, 2011 6:57PM
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Freedom is looking worse by the day. Freedom to stay home, freedom to not be able to afford good food, freedom to not be able to find a decent paying job, freedom to not be able to have affordable healthcare, freedom to enjoy crummy customer service everywhere, freedom to purchase more and more poorly made chinese junk, and freedom to have no real tax breaks for the working poor.

brent011
Apr 15, 2011 6:25AM
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Wow, how things change. The big experts have been telling us right along that after the Libya issue is resolved,oil will drop back under $100 a barrel. So much for their big promises. This country is totally screwed thanks to the Greedy traders and speculators. We will be lucky if we are not shoved back into another recession. These people will never learn anything because all they think about is getting richer and to hell with what they are doing to everyone else in the process.
bohemiangirl
Apr 15, 2011 11:28AM
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I think that it is irresponsible that we allow gas companies to profit heavily on the backs of hard working Americans.  How many people really believe that the hard times in 2008 were only because of the stock markets??  Most lower class and Middle class Americans hardly dabble at all in the stock markets. . .you have to have enough money leftover at the end of the month to do that.  You raise gas prices to over $4 a gallon and you can rest assured that spending will slow to a crawl. . .people will choose not to go on vacations. . .people will spend far less on their cars, on their clothes and on their other purchases.  It will do nothing but put us back in the tailspin we were already in. . .but is there any way to prevent this??  We are going to have to scratch and claw to hold onto any sort of a middle class. . .we will be either rich, living on the backs of the poor, or poor living on the scraps from the table (government aid).  I am a realist and I see that after working hard since i was 15 years old. . .that there is no longer the same "american dream" that was talked about when I was young.
Someone (cheryl3)
Apr 14, 2011 5:34PM
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this is sad...EVERYTHING is going up....go buy groceries....nothing​​ will be changed...prices will not go down....nor will our paychecks go up....maybe there will be another depression? Seems like everyone wants more and more money and they don't realize that we could just put THEM out of business by not buying from them until the price of living was near the wages we make working. Who in hell wants to work two or three jobs just to have the money to purchase gas and food. Sad.
riverrat
Apr 15, 2011 6:50AM
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i always thought price gouging was illegal??? it is except when the feds  and oil co. are the ones screwing you.  almost half of all gas prices are tax,they could take less to relieve the consumers price and give us some kind of relief. but they would rather break us!! we should all just stay home for one week,everyone. no work,no shopping,no anything. we need to stand together and not take this bs anymore!!!  im tierd of paying for other peoples vacations.
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