Gas prices have continued to soar lately as supply-chain hiccups become an all-too-real concern. Now, gas price predictions are in focus as pumps hit an average price of $4.29 per gallon. Will gas prices continue to soar?
Well, despite oil prices heading back to normalcy after a near-record spike on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, gas is still lagging behind. Indeed, Russia ceased its oil exports in the wake of the economic sanctions levied against the country. That forced oil and energy prices up across the board.
Since then, oil prices have progressively eased. Brent Crude oil reached its peak close of $128 per barrel on March 8, then started dropping back down. Today, Brent trades for around $107 per barrel. It even briefly fell below $100. However, despite the drop in oil prices, gas prices are only down a few pennies from last week’s average.
Still, Lipow Oil Associates President Andy Lipow assured CNN that it’s only a matter of time before gas follows suit:
“This has been going on for 40 years […] Prices do dip, it just seems to take a long time. You can’t deny the data that is out there […] Don’t get me wrong. There would be some lag […] What if I was the guy who just bought my tanker load yesterday and the next two days crude oil dropped?”
So, with that said, let’s see what the experts think about gas prices going forward.
Gas Price Predictions
- To start, GasBuddy’s 2022 forecast lays out an average U.S. gas price of $3.99 per barrel this year. According to the report, gas prices will peak in August as high at as $4.62 per gallon.
- The U.S Energy Information Administration (EIA) is a bit more optimistic on gas prices this year. The EIA believes gas prices will likely remain elevated through the second quarter of 2022 at $4.10 per gallon. However, it also expects the second half of the year to be far more forgiving, with an average price of $3.71 per gallon.
- Finally, Kiplinger laid out its general expectations for gas pumps in the future. Without detailing any specific numbers, Kiplinger believes gas prices should start to shrink slightly in the near future but remain high through much of 2022. Prices could get especially high this spring.
On the date of publication, Shrey Dua did not hold (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.
