If death and taxes are the only two things certain in life, rising gas prices are definitely giving them a run for their ? and motorists? ? money.
Compared with the same time last year, drivers in Maryland are seeing an increase of more than 6 cents in the average price of a gallon of regular unleaded gas, up to $2.79, the AAA reported. While it seems like just a small blip over 12 months, the increase is even bigger considering that 2006 was a record year for gas prices.
And compared to just a month ago, the cost of a gallon of regular gas has shot up nearly a cent per day from $2.50.
“We?re seeing really high demand,” said Troy Green, a public affairs specialist for AAA Mid-Atlantic. “We?ve had record demand for the first couple of weeks of April record demand.”
Nationally, BaltimoreGasPrices.com has the average cost of a gallon of unleaded regular fuel at nearly $2.85. This represents a 5-cent increase over last week?s average of $2.79, and a 17-cent jump from one month ago. Stacked up against the mark of $2.73 a year ago, today?s price is about 12 cents more.
“The U.S. average price for gas seems to be rising quite regular, and that is a good indicator for local markets,” said Jason Toews, founder of BaltimoreGasPrices.com. “If they stabilize, you can expect local costs to level off.”
As for the future of the market, Toews told The Examiner that mid-May is usually a peak time for prices and, barring some unforeseen international occurrence, last year?s $3.30 record will fall.
“The real wildcard is crude oil,” Toews said. “The Middle East is really a boiling pot that could explode at any second, and if something happens over there [prices could go up].”
Green echoed those comments. With barrels of crude oil trading for around $66 per barrel as of Friday, Green realized that AAA?s initial projection of a $2.87 ceiling might have been a bit conservative.
“After [Memorial] Day, prices won?t fall until after summer season driving,” he said.
