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Feds Predict Record Gas Prices for Spring

$3 the new $2 per gallon

By Joe Benton
ConsumerAffairs.com

February 17, 2008

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The Energy Information Administration is predicting record gasoline prices by spring with the cost of a gallon of regular self serve hitting $3.40 or more.

The agency forecasts that oil supplies will be tight enough to push the national average gas price past the record set last May at $3.23 a gallon.

Gasoline prices are already up 75 cents a gallon over a year ago. The average price of a gallon of regular self serve is now $2.99.

Last month a gallon of regular sold for $3.05 and last year regular gasoline cost $2.24.

Prices could ease somewhat after the spring surge, according to the government but they are still forecasting an average about 26 cents a gallon more this year.

The most expensive gallon of gasoline found in the U.S. is now $3.69 in the Bronx, New York. The cheapest gallon is on sale in Peculiar, Missouri for $2.55.

Here is a look at gasoline prices in Texas, California and Florida in the ConsumerAffairs.com Gas Price Round Up.

Texas: Some markets in the state are posting slight increases and some are posting decreases, according to AAA Texas Weekend Gas Watch.

"Six of the 11 cities posted increases while five other areas showed decreases," says AAA Texas spokeswoman Rose Rougeau. "With inventories of oil and gas up, it is too early to tell which direction retail gas prices will head."

The state average is up less than a penny over last week at $2.87 a gallon.

Corpus Christi has the cheapest gas average in the state at $2.78 a gallon, down 3 cents from last week. The Amarillo area has the most expensive gas average at $2.92 a gallon. This is up 4 cents from last week.

California: The average price for a gallon of gasoline in the Bay Area is down more than 20 cents since January but prices throughout the region remain higher than state and national averages, according to the American Automobile Association of Northern California.

"Three dollars a gallon is the new $2 a gallon," Sean Comey, AAA of Northern California spokesman, said in a prepared statement.

The average price for a gallon of regular unleaded gas in the Bay Area is now $3.30.

The demand for gasoline across the state is falling and the supply of gasoline is relatively strong, which has contributed to dropping prices, according AAA.

Gas prices have gone up by a penny or less in most areas of Southern California in the last two weeks, according to AAA of Southern California.

The average price of self-serve regular gasoline in the Los Angeles-Long Beach area is $3.09, which is less than a penny higher than last week, 21 cents less than last month and 45 cents above last year.

On the Central Coast, the average price is $3.26, up a penny from last week, 16 cents under last month and 47 cents more than last year.

In the Inland Empire, the average price is $3.08, almost 2 cents above last week, down 21 cents from last month and 44 cents higher than last year.

"For the second week in a row, we're seeing prices hold steady for the most part at many gas stations," said Jeffrey Spring, a spokesman for the Automobile Club of Southern California.

Florida: Gasoline prices might continue a slow decline following recent government reports of job losses and an expected economic slump, according to experts at AAA Auto Club South.

"We expect that gasoline prices could drop another ten to twenty cents before the expected spring price increases in March, said Randy Bly, director of community relations for AAA.

The current average price in Florida is $3.03. One week ago the average gas price $3.04 in the state. One month ago, the average gas price was $3.15 and one year ago it was $2.07.

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