On Tuesday, national gas prices hit a record high of $4.59, according to AAA. This has left people around the country wondering if lower fuel prices are on the horizon. Some experts have predicted that gas prices will only continue to rise, according to Fox News.
$6 a gallon? Analysts at JP Morgan predict that the national average gas price could surge by 37%, leading to prices of up to $6 a gallon by August, Fox News stated.
- These predictions are based on high national driving expectations, paired with a low fuel supply. The amount of time Americans spend on the road usually increases during the summer, through Memorial Day until Labor Day.
- Fuel companies usually produce more gas ahead of time to prepare for the summer. However, this summer, gas inventories are at their lowest levels since 2019, Fox News reported.
- “I think that the reality is we are in for higher gas prices, certainly through the summer and probably through the end of this year, possibly gradually going lower,” Severin Borenstein, an analyst for Berkeley’s Energy Institute, told CBS News. “But we’re not going to see $2 or $3 gasoline even in the near future.”
Yes, but: JP Morgan’s predictions are just one analysis. Some experts believe that a $6 gallon of gas is unlikely to hit the pumps in such a short amount of time.
- Andy Lipow, president of Lipow Oil Associates, told CNN that demand would have to surge worldwide — not just in the U.S. — for gas prices to get that high.
- “It’s hard to get to $6. Before we get there, we would have significant demand destruction, not only here, but around the world,” said Lipow.
- “I personally think we’d see a recession before we’d see a national average of $6,” Patrick De Haan, the head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, told CNN.
- JP Morgan’s report also acknowledged that demand could fall lower than the predictions, which it currently is. The demand for fuel is on average about 500,000 barrels lower than JP Morgan predicted, per CNN.