Gas Prices Expected to Peak in June

  • 07/05/2008

  • New York Times (New York)

With gasoline prices at record highs, a station in Nashville posted prices in terms other than dollars and cents on Sunday. Gasoline sells currently for $3.61 a gallon on average, AAA says. Oil jumped to another record on Tuesday, and the government said it expected gasoline prices to peak at a national average of $3.73 a gallon in June, just as the summer driving season kicks off. ) Times Topics: Oil (Petroleum) and GasolineThe new forecast from the Energy Department came on a day oil futures rose above $122 a barrel in New York trading after rebels in Nigeria renewed their attacks against oil installations. By day's end, crude oil for June delivery closed at a record $121.84 a barrel, up 1.6 percent from Monday's close. Oil prices have nearly doubled in a year. Gasoline is selling for a national average of about $3.61 a gallon, according to AAA, the automobile club, a penny less than the record set on May 1 but 58 cents higher than a year ago. Some private analysts have gone beyond the Energy Department's forecasts, predicting that gasoline will surpass $4 a gallon this summer. Domestic gasoline consumption is likely to fall more steeply than expected this year, the Energy Department said, an indication that higher prices are cutting into the driving habits of many Americans. But gasoline prices are expected to rise nonetheless and should average $3.52 a gallon for the full year, or 71 cents above their average price in 2007, according to the government's latest estimates. "In the past, high prices could be offset by borrowing or making more money,' said Adam Robinson, an analyst at Lehman Brothers. "It's really when you have the triple bite