$5.00 Gas Again?

The former president of Shell Oil, John Hofmeister, recently stated in an interview with Platt’s Energy Week television that Americans might be paying $5 for a gallon of gasoline by the end of 2012. Hofmeister predicted gasoline prices will rise again as the global demand for oil start to once again increase.

On the other hand, the chief oil analyst with Oil Price Information Service, Tom Kloza, feels Americans will see gasoline prices certainly hit the $5 a gallon mark in the next ten years, but not by 2012.

U.S. Gasoline prices have been steadily rising most recently. Last week, for instance, the average gas prices crossed the $3 mark for the first time since October 2008. According to figures tracked by AAA, gasoline prices are currently up 4% from a month ago and up 16% from a year ago.