Gas Prices Could Surpass $4.00 This Spring

DETROIT, MI - Thursday, January 6, 2011 - Motorists filling up their tanks today may see an unpleasant surprise at the pump. The price for a gallon of regular self-serve gasoline is likely to increase to $3.15-$3.19 throughout Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, and Kentucky today. For some gasoline stations this will mean increasing prices as much as 20-cents per gallon compared to prices earlier this week.

"The rise in gasoline prices is due to falling margins. We've seen retail prices dropping the last week and a half while wholesale costs have moved slightly higher," says GasBuddy Senior Petroleum Analyst, Patrick DeHaan.

DeHaan explains that he expects prices to remain between an average of $2.95 and $3.35 through February before beginning to rise in March and April ahead of the summer driving season. "We could see prices this Spring surpass $4/gallon in some areas as demand improves along with the economy," he notes.