Gas prices may peak at...

[imported_elp6n]

... $3.40/gallon this Spring. Yeah.. that's high enough to keep me parked at home (outside of work).

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12400801/
Gas prices climb 2 cents over the weekend
Crude oil prices also rise on Mideast tensions

NEW YORK - Gas prices at the pump added more than 2 cents over the weekend, topping a more than seven-month high reached Friday. Meanwhile, oil prices edged higher after climbing close to $100 a barrel earlier in the session.

Retail gas prices rose 2.2 cents to a national average of $3.137 a gallon from $3.115 Friday, the highest since June 8, according to AAA and the Oil Price Information Service. Gasoline futures also rose 1.41 cent to $2.5478 a gallon.

The gas price surge may reflect what some analysts believe will be a record climb in prices to between $3.75 and $4 a gallon this spring. The Energy Department's latest forecast calls for gas prices to peak near $3.40 a gallon this spring.

But other analysts say the run-up is only in response to oil's recent spike to a new record above $101 a barrel and that inventory levels at a 14-year high won't support these prices.

"We have record high prices, but we don't have record tight inventories,"? said Tim Evans, an energy analyst at Citigroup Global Markets. "The gasoline market is not physically in bull market territory. Whether traders acknowledge this or not, these are bear market conditions."?

Evans pointed out that gas supplies have risen for 15 straight weeks.

"To some extent this is what happens in winter because seasonally demand tends to be weak. But demand has been weaker than a year ago, which has allowed inventories to accumulate at a faster rate,"? he said.

Light, sweet crude for April delivery rose 24 cents to $99.05 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It climbed as high as $99.70 a barrel earlier on supply concerns heightened by a Turkish military incursion into northern Iraq and warnings by Iran against further international sanctions

Some analysts noted that some investors had invested heavily in crude, betting that prices will continue to rise, and that this was likely to contribute to volatility in the market.

In London, April Brent crude futures rose 52 cents to $97.53 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.

In other trading, heating oil futures rose 1.8 cent to $2.7810 a gallon, while natural gas futures lost 3.1 cents to $9.115 per 1,000 cubic feet.

[burton2019]

Its better than $5/gal. I agree that it is high, but I have to work so my family and I can eat. Therefore, I have to pay it.

[imported_elp6n]

Same here, but recreational trips will be cut for me if we see those kinds of prices! I'll have to become a homebody - or take up biking [img]/LDPforum/ubbthreads/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/grin.gif[/img]

[MikeJones]

Mideast tensions is so 540 AD. Why cant we just blame it on rich oil execs getting richer. Stupid richers

[imported_elp6n]

Gas prices just went up to $3.19/gallon here.

edit:
....... and apparently went back down again. The Mystik was $3.19 but back down about an hour later

[ChrisSabo]

Getting ready to trade my 15MPG truck for a 30MPG car!

[imported_elp6n]

Bush just now finds out about the gas price predictions issue.
Genious.

http://money.cnn.com/2008/02/28/news...ex.htm?cnn=yes

Bush finds out about $4 gas forecasts
President says best way to help consumers cope is to make his tax cuts permanent.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- President Bush, saying he was unaware of predictions of $4-a-gallon gasoline in the coming months, told reporters Thursday that the best way to help Americans fend off high prices is for Congress to make his first-term tax cuts permanent.

"If you're out there wondering... what your life is going to be like, and you're looking at $4 a gallon, that's uncertain," Bush responded to a question posed at a White House news conference. "And when you couple that with the idea that... taxes may be going up in a couple years, that's double uncertainty."

Analysts have said that gasoline could reach $4 a gallon by this spring, due to strong demand and a change in formulation, among other reasons.

When taking the question about the $4 milestone, Bush told the reporter, "That's interesting. I hadn't heard that."

In other areas of energy policy, the president repeated his support for both renewable sources and conservation.

Bush also criticized Congress, which is considering an $18 billion tax increase for large oil companies.

"All that's going to do is make the price even higher," he said. "We ought to be encouraging investment in oil and gas close to home if we're trying to mitigate the problems we face."

The ethanol bust
The House of Representatives passed the oil tax bill Wednesday, and Senate Democrats said they would try to push the bill through quickly to avoid a Republican filibuster. If the bill passes, the White House has threatened to veto.

Bush told reporters that in order for the use of renewable sources of energy - such as corn- and switchgrass-based ethanol - to become widespread, the country needs to increase domestic oil production and build new refineries.