A GasBuddy.com analyst is predicting the 2012 U.S. gasoline average will mark the most expensive year for gas prices in history.
Though the nationwide $3.63 per gallon average still could fall below last year's average, GasBuddy.com Senior Petroleum Analyst Patrick DeHaan said the likelihood of that happening is low.
“We did the math, and the numbers don’t lie. Last year’s average price of gasoline nationwide was $3.51 per gallon. The national average price of gasoline in the U.S. would have to drop to $2.35 per gallon or lower for every day for the remainder of 2012 in order for the 2012 yearly average price to fall below last year’s level," DeHaan said in a news release.
Another GasBuddy.com senior petroleum analyst, Gregg Laskoski, pointed to supply problems in California during the summer and damage caused by Hurricane Sandy on the East Coast. “It reminds us exactly how vulnerable our nation’s fuel infrastructure is and why the U.S. should be looking to increase refining capacity where it is needed most," he said in the release.
Last week, Missouri's gas average decreased by 0.8 cents to an average of $3.15 per gallon yesterday. The national average dropped 3.7 cents to $3.39 per gallon, according to a separate GasBuddy.com news release.
Missouri's average was unchanged compared to a month ago and 12.9 cents higher than a year ago, while the U.S. average decreased 11.3 cents during the past month but increased 10 cents during the past year.
The Missouri average was unchanged this morning, ranking the state No. 4 on GasBuddy.com's list of the
lowest gas averages in the nation. At $3.11 per gallon, Oklahoma had the least expensive gas in the country, following by Texas, at $3.12 per gallon, and South Carolina, at $3.13 per gallon.
As of 10:23 a.m., the lowest gas price in Missouri, $2.94 per gallon, was available at two filling stations in Marshall and Concord. At $3.59 per gallon, the highest price was recorded at a station in Cape Girardeau, according to MissouriGasPrices.com.
In Springfield, the lowest price could be found for $3.11 per gallon at Sam's Club, 3660 E. Sunshine St.
West Texas Intermediate crude oil was trading at $89.91 per barrel as of 10:26 a.m., compared to a 52-week range of $77.56 to $109.95. Light sweet crude oil futures for January were trading at $89.10 per barrel on the
New York Mercantile Exchange.
