The average price of regular-grade gasoline spiked 33 cents over the past two weeks to $4.71 per gallon, according to the Lundberg Survey, which comes as some analysts predict that prices will climb to more than $6 per gallon by the end of the summer.
Industry analyst Trilby Lundberg of the Lundberg Survey said on May 22 that the price jump comes amid higher crude oil costs and tight gasoline supplies.
Nationwide, the highest average price for regular-grade gas was in the San Francisco Bay Area, at $6.20 per gallon, according to the survey, while the lowest average was in Tulsa, Oklahoma, at $3.92 per gallon.
“Typically, refiners produce more gasoline ahead of the summer road-trip season, building up inventories,” said Natasha Kaneva, head of global commodities research at JPMorgan.
Since mid-April, however, “gasoline inventories have fallen counter seasonally and today sit at the lowest seasonal levels since 2019,” she said.
EIA stated that the Russia–Ukraine conflict has injected greater volatility into oil markets.
“Sanctions on Russia and other independent corporate actions contributed to falling oil production in Russia and continue to create significant market uncertainties about the potential for further oil supply disruptions. These events occurred against a backdrop of low oil inventories and persistent upward oil price pressures,” EIA stated.
Oil prices surged to more than $130 per barrel in March over concerns of disrupted supplies from Russia, although they’ve since fallen.
Brent crude futures rose by 1.32 cents to $113.82 per barrel on the morning of May 23, while the U.S. benchmark WTI crude advanced by 1.24 cents to $111.52.
EIA predicts that Brent will average $103 per barrel in the second half of 2022, before falling to $97 per barrel in 2023.
“Because oil inventories are currently low, we expect downward oil price pressures will be limited and market conditions will exist for significant price volatility,” EIA noted.