Gas prices could exceed a $4 average before the summer, GasBuddy.com predicted.
The GasBuddy forecast projects gas prices will peak nationally at an average of $3.79 in May, before retreating below current levels by late 2022, CNN reported.
“We could see a national average that flirts with, or in a worst-case scenario, potentially exceeds $4 a gallon,” Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, told CNN.
GasBuddy’s forecast also predicts the national gas price average will rise to $3.41 per gallon next year, up from $3.02 in 2021.
The predicted rise in gas prices would magnify inflationary pressures hitting U.S. families. Consumer prices rose 5.7% over the past year, the fastest pace in 39 years.
GasBuddy based its forecast on several major factors, including demand that continues to recover from COVID-19 much faster than supply.
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