Coming to a pump near you: $3 a gallon gasoline
Retail prices expected to blow past record high
Get ready to dig deeper into your pockets at the gas station this summer: $3 per gallon gasoline could be headed to a pump near you.
Unleaded gas prices could reach the "upper limits of $2.75 to $3 this summer.
Retail prices will likely surpass $2 a gallon in two separate spikes, one in the spring based on fear and uncertainty, and another toward the end of the summer.
The initial price jump will come during the transition from winter to summer blends of gasoline, which typically puts a strain on supply availability.
While prices peaking at $3 in some metro areas in the worst of circumstances, average prices rising above $2 but reaching the high-$2 range for only a brief period if at all. If any region sees prices near $3 a gallon, it would be already high-priced markets like California and Chicago and would occur only after a refinery outage or two.
The gasoline market will have an irregular heartbeat ... racing at times and resemble brachyadia at others. The overall retail average for the year will be the highest ever, but there will a huge gap between the highest and lowest prices, which could still run as low as $1 a gallon in some states.
Going into an election year, $3 retail prices would spell disaster. Some sort of government intervention should occur at levels around $2.25.
Davïd Greenville, NC