Say goodbye to gas prices under $2 a gallon
Remember, a few weeks ago, when gas prices dipped below $2 a gallon?
Those days aren't coming back anytime soon.
Gas prices in the suburbs jumped about 12 cents per gallon this week, starting what's expected to be a slow and steady rise in prices into the summer months.
“It is hard to say if we will ever see the below $2 a gallon price again,” said GasBuddy Petroleum Analyst Allison Mac. “It is possible. However, for the near future, it is not likely.”
In the Chicago suburbs, the average gas price rose to $2.30 a gallon. That's much lower than it was a year ago at this time ($3.47 a gallon), and almost half of what it was in March 2012, when the price peaked at $4.50 a gallon, according to AAA.
Prices aren't expected to go beyond $3 per gallon nationally, which might mean slightly more than $3 in the Chicago area.
The rise in price isn't sitting well with suburban drivers.
“I liked it when they were down to like $1.95 or $2 (a gallon). It's $2.49 already? It doesn't make any sense,” said Jim McCoy of Mount Prospect, while fueling up his car Tuesday in Rolling Meadows.
While the price could be 30 percent higher by the time summer arrives, gas is still relatively cheap, said AAA Chicago spokeswoman Beth Mosher.
“It is a bargain,” Mosher said. “We still think this is going to be a mild year as far as gas prices are concerned.”
Rising prices have been attributed to lower production brought on by refinery maintenance, as oil refineries gear up for the summer demand. Prices routinely rise in February as part of something called “first quarter climb.”
“What we're seeing now is typical,” Mosher said.