Record gas prices in US

Gas prices appear headed for record above $4

Analysts see no end to the Middle East tensions pushing up oil prices. Volatile year appears to be ahead.

BY STEVE EVERLY

Kansas City Star,

2 February, 2012

As if the recent jumps at the gas pump weren’t bad enough, analysts are now warning motorists to be ready for record prices above $4 a gallon.

Prices jumped another dime a gallon in the past week in the Kansas City area, to an average of $3.59, after rising 20 cents a gallon the week before that. The national average hit $3.74, up more than 15 cents in a week. And with the summer driving season still ahead, more increases seem likely.

Lewis Adam, president of Admo Energy in Kansas City, which helps gas stations buy and manage fuel, said he expected area gas prices to top $4 for the first time in nearly four years.

“I think we will see it this May or June,” he said.

Current gasoline supplies are adequate, but motorists are suffering because there’s no assurance that they’ll stay that way. Tension in the Middle East keeps pushing world oil prices up, and the volatility caused by those doubts was on display the past two days.

A report of sabotage Thursday at a pipeline in Saudi Arabia caused oil prices to jump 5 percent, near a four-year high.

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