Business

Analysts: 2012 Will be The Most Expensive Year Ever for Gas

2012 Prediction: The Most Expensive Year Ever for Gas

A driver pumps gas in Boston (Lisa Poole, AP file)

Due to the growing cost of crude oil and multiple refinery mishaps, 2012 is on track to be the costliest year ever for gasoline.

“Nationally, gasoline averages $3.70 a gallon — up 30 cents since mid-July and is now higher than year-ago levels in 39 states. Prices are likely to continue climbing through August, with little relief until after Labor Day,” USA Today reports.

Gas jumped 9 percent this month, pushing the national average to $3.67 a gallon, thereby beating 2011’s $3.51 a gallon record. And it doesn’t look like it’s going to let up. In fact, even after demand dies down with the end of summer, 2012 will still most likely be the most expensive year on record, according to Brian Milne of energy tracker Telvent DTN.

“The run-up comes at a time when prices typically have peaked for the year, and just weeks after decreasing demand and slowing worldwide economic growth pushed prices well off 2012 highs. The trend had prompted some industry experts to forecast $3 a gallon gasoline by autumn. Now, Milne expects a top at about $3.90 before dropping in September [emphasis added],” USA Today reports.

Of course, drivers in the Midwest are already paying that much and the cost in California has jumped considerably after a fire broke out at a Northern California Chevron refinery last week.

“The $4 threshold is when you see sticker shock and marked changes in consumer behavior and spending patterns,” says Scott Anderson, chief economist at Bank of the West, who warns rising gas prices will stymie consumer spending.

“When prices come down, that really revives disposable income. The longer we see these highs, the more impact you’ll see on consumer spending,” he adds.

However, AAA spokesman Michael Green is confident people will travel despite the rising costs.

“Whenever prices rise, it has a major effect on what people spend and save,” he says. “People are still going to take extended trips, but they might decrease what they spend on souvenirs or cut back on that expensive dinner.”

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Click here to read the full report.

All photos Associated Press.

Comments (40)

  • Meyvn
    Posted on August 16, 2012 at 4:37pm

    What a surprise.

    Report Post » Meyvn  
  • Amarilloan
    Posted on August 16, 2012 at 12:47pm

    How about that! A promise Obama kept….

    Report Post »  
  • progoyim
    Posted on August 16, 2012 at 12:14pm

    There are many reasons for high gas prices ,but the one nobody talks about the sand pit at the Eastern end of the Mediterranean .Every time they open their mouth to threaten some one in the region oil goes up probably make money off of the oil speculation along with A.P.R.I.C.K. traitors .

    Report Post » progoyim  
  • Hrothgar
    Posted on August 16, 2012 at 10:38am

    $4.00 gallon gas is sooooo 2008, I expect $7.00 gallon gas in 2012

    Report Post » Hrothgar  
  • Vic Tory
    Posted on August 16, 2012 at 8:36am

    Analysts: 2012 Will be The Most Expensive Year Ever for Gas

    Thanks Barrack

    Report Post » Vic Tory  
  • NotaLemming
    Posted on August 16, 2012 at 8:12am

    This is an idea that became popular when gas got this expensive a while back. http://yourdaddy.net/2011/04/25/the-gas-pump-hope-and-change-sticky-note-campaign/ This same tactic can be used to promote #RR2012 and demote Ozero.

    Report Post » NotaLemming  
  • AJAYW
    Posted on August 16, 2012 at 2:57am

    Just as obama promised electric bills next

    Report Post »  
    • Hollywood
      Posted on August 16, 2012 at 7:17am

      Yes, he should have said ALL energy prices will necessarily skyrocket under his admin. What a complete economic MORON this guy is. Who voted for him? Just like the Germans who ALL denied voting for Hitler as Chancellor!

      Report Post » Hollywood  
  • Apple Bite
    Posted on August 16, 2012 at 2:51am

    Then the other side of the coin, no pun intended, these high gas prices are affecting every other part of our lives: Food, Clothing, Energy, Transportation not land related, This is not the country it was when Bush was in office. And believe me, I was never a huge fan of either Bush.

    People need to think about where we are and what we were doing 4 years ago, and compare the two. Up to me, I’ll rather go back to the days of Bush than remain with Obama. If given a real choice, I’d rather erase the last 15 years altogether and head towards a better path. I look back at the last 15 years and think to myself, “what in the hell are we doing?”. Under Clinton, we still had a bright future ahead of us under the right conditions. Under Bush, despite the problems we faced, we still had something left to pull out of the slump. Under Obama, there’s just no chance in hell of making it out of this quagmire.

    To Black folk out there, I have to ask, who is representing you? If all you are is a Welfare Check and a Race Card, then you’re not worth very much. Because that‘s all the Liberals you’ve voted for are presenting in your favor. They’re not going to do anymore than that for you. They been pimping Black folk out for so long, it’s like breathing to them. In all the years Blacks have voted for them, very little has changed. And I’m sure we all know the definition of insanity.

    It’s time to Stop the Insanity.

    Report Post » Apple Bite  
  • mcsledge
    Posted on August 16, 2012 at 1:58am

    I watched Huckabee on Sunday interview coal mining workers in West Virginia. Obama has all but shut down coal mining. He’ll pursue the same with petroleum. Never in history has a country elected one with the intent of sabatoging their own country. Well America, we have changed history. We should be so proud.

    Report Post » mcsledge  
  • mcsledge
    Posted on August 16, 2012 at 1:55am

    Obama’s energy policy! Energy prices must necessarily sky rocket……

    Report Post » mcsledge  
  • zoro51
    Posted on August 16, 2012 at 12:49am

    coporate GREEEEEED plain n simple obama HATES american oil loves MUSLUM oil… start charging 245 a barrel of grain instead of 7 dolalrs youll soon see GAS prices shoot down real fast n low… AMERICA has the resources oil gas coal OBAMA HATES ALL THAT.. he desires for US to be eurpoe.. WE ARE NOT CCCR.. were not china we are AMERICANS FIRE OBAMA NOW

    Report Post » zoro51  
  • Tri-ox
    Posted on August 15, 2012 at 11:02pm

    “It‘s all Paul Ryan’s fault, or something.” – - – B. Hussein’O

    Report Post » Tri-ox  
  • progressiveslayer
    Posted on August 15, 2012 at 10:43pm

    Keep putting corn in our gas tanks and don’t exploit the 1 trillion barrels of shale oil we have here in the U.S and watch the price of oil skyrocket.

    Report Post » progressiveslayer  
    • resme
      Posted on August 16, 2012 at 12:04am

      Don’t forget about our fiat dollar, It’s the main reason for higher prices on basically everything.. But fatcat obama up in Washington doesn’t have to worry hes sitting right at the nozzle of the federal reserve.

      Report Post » resme  
  • NEAF
    Posted on August 15, 2012 at 10:35pm

    Their goal is $5, at least.

    Report Post » NEAF  
  • perry1980
    Posted on August 15, 2012 at 10:25pm

    Just the way Obama wants it
    I will gladly pay $4 a gallon this year to insure the Obama admin fails

    Report Post »  
    • NEAF
      Posted on August 15, 2012 at 10:36pm

      Great point. Drill Baby Drill!

      Report Post » NEAF  
  • KidCharlemagne
    Posted on August 15, 2012 at 9:48pm

    You haven’t seen anything yet….

    Foreign countries are quietly dropping the U.S. dollar as a medium of exchange to pay for crude oil with and are settling the tab either with barter arrangements or have begun to make currency swap deals with one another using their native currencies.

    Face it folks, we’ve printed up FAR too many new dollars to pay for wars, bank bailouts, auto company bailouts, etc. over the past 10 years and now its time to pay the piper.

    If you encourage folks to abandon the dollar by printing up trillions more of them, then they will surely follow through with it eventually.

    Report Post »  
    • love the kids
      Posted on August 15, 2012 at 9:55pm

      This is nothing more than Obama jacking up the prices to make his oil buddies rich. Oh wait, thats what Bush did. So why is Obama making Bush’s oil buddies rich? I’m so confused

      Report Post »  
    • Walkabout
      Posted on August 15, 2012 at 11:33pm

      You are right. Angola (oil), Mozambique, Iran, China are doing this to name a few. That is 4 out of 195 (or so) countries. It is much more than 2% in terms of number of countries if you exclude postage stamp sized countries.
      It is more significant if you look in terms of their GDP or pop. size. If they do it others will follow.
      Many multinational corporations have trading arms that arrange swaps of equipment for commodities or other goods. The expertise to arrange these swaps is out there.
      The difference between stats and municipalities & the federal government is the feds can prints money. Given that the U.S. has or had the reserve currency this allowed politicians to print. Of course Bernanke is not a politicians & neither are generals. Ask soldiers if colonels & such get more political the higher up they go. Alan Greenspan went to a baseball game with President Clinton prior to his reappointment. Has he been to a baseball game since or anywhere with Clinton?

      Business Week pre-Bloomberg said that politicians liked to raise taxes & then have the feds ease the M3 money supply (print money) so the little people didn’t feel squeezed. The thing is that when you are no linger the reserve currency & you print money is that you devalue your currency. So the next time some a**hole of a politician(s) wants the presses turned on, the little people will soon see inflation in terms of imports.

      The party is over. The Democrat party will be defunct in less than a generat

      Report Post »  
  • tarpon
    Posted on August 15, 2012 at 9:27pm

    Vote Mitt, he know the global warming crap is a lie …

    Report Post »  
  • DEMOCRATS.ARE.EVIL
    Posted on August 15, 2012 at 9:24pm

    I’m willing to pay more at the pump short term if it helps get this Maoist wrecking ball out of the White House.

    Report Post » DEMOCRATS.ARE.EVIL  
  • exblackbird
    Posted on August 15, 2012 at 9:20pm

    Analysts: 2012 Will be The Most Expensive Year Ever for Gas

    and it will be burrak obammy’s last year in office. he had his chance and he blew it.

    Report Post »  
  • Darmok and Jalad at Tanagra
    Posted on August 15, 2012 at 9:13pm

    “Under my plan….energy prices will necessarily skyrocket” – Barrack Obama 2008.

    Gas prices up 100%
    Electric Prices up 100%
    Natural Gas prices up 100%
    Food prices up 100%

    Unemployment ……same as when he came in (According to Labor Dept)

    Hope I still Have Change in my pocket after Nov 2012.

    R&R 2012.

    Report Post » Darmok and Jalad at Tanagra  
    • JACKTHETOAD
      Posted on August 16, 2012 at 2:50am

      Between the gubmint limiting new refineries and possible arson fires at existing ones (Notice they’re near poor black neighborhoods for lawsuits), I think Obammy & Co. are goin’ for the throat alright. Good luck with that YOU BASTARDS!

      Report Post » JACKTHETOAD  
    • Zipit
      Posted on August 16, 2012 at 9:06am

      The content of your post alone should be enough to throw this administration out on their a$$es!!! I hope the Romney campaign can find a way to really hammer this home! (as if there is any one out there who eats, cools or heats their home, or stands at a gas pump, that doesn’t already know)!

      Report Post »  
  • v15
    Posted on August 15, 2012 at 9:08pm

    Even a child can understand basic economics. Occupy Wall Street can‘t seem to grasp it but I’m positive the Obama Administration knows that they are deliberately destroying this nation. Or perhaps they actually believe their own lies.

    Tigers eat Frosted Flakes. – repeat that a hundred times and maybe you’ll start to believe it.

    Report Post » v15  
  • scrudge
    Posted on August 15, 2012 at 9:08pm

    Ah Yes…. air up the tires on your bicycle….. we are going toooooooo neeeeed them…. hay while we are at it close all the coal fired generators…. relect oBOZO and finish off AMERICA… by plenty of ammo… we are going to need it

    Report Post »  
  • louise
    Posted on August 15, 2012 at 9:04pm

    hmmm……can we give up our truck yet? That is a toughie…

    Report Post » louise  
  • Individualism
    Posted on August 15, 2012 at 8:51pm

    only if stupid israeli goverment attacks harmless iran and stupid neo cons join in and occupy their country like they did with Iraq, war raises gas prices or speculation of it. no war lower prices.

    Report Post » Individualism  
    • sWampy
      Posted on August 15, 2012 at 9:05pm

      Nice name calling, really makes you sound like a brilliant liberal. Good god, war in the middle east doesn’t drive up prices, rich liberal *******’s drive up prices, drill here, stop selling our oil to China for 1/3 the world market price, stop selling them our coal, tell the mid east to pound sand, tell everyone else stop buying mid east oil, or we let your economies go by by, and see how quick the price goes down. The world needs us, we don’t need them.

      Report Post »  
    • bannedfromCNN
      Posted on August 15, 2012 at 9:17pm

      Is that you, Barry Soetoro?

      Report Post » bannedfromCNN  
    • DEMOCRATS.ARE.EVIL
      Posted on August 15, 2012 at 9:23pm

      INDIVIDUALISM is nibbling on a dog thigh while he hunts and pecks at the keyboard.

      Report Post » DEMOCRATS.ARE.EVIL  
    • Individualism
      Posted on August 15, 2012 at 9:40pm

      “The world needs us, we don’t need them.” exactly so forget the world and we can have lower prices here glad we agree on that foreign policy.

      Report Post » Individualism  
    • Amarilloan
      Posted on August 16, 2012 at 12:53pm

      I’ve read through all these comments and was amazed at the lack of dimwitted trolls. Then you come along “individualism”. Really sad…

      Report Post »  
  • Tigress1
    Posted on August 15, 2012 at 8:49pm

    Obama is jumping for joy!

    Report Post » Tigress1  

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