By Marni Pyke
Just when you thought it was safe to plan a road trip to California, gas prices are spiking in the Chicago region, causing a nervous tic in drivers haunted by the days of $4.24 a gallon for regular…
… Argonne National Laboratory energy researcher Don Hillebrand is familiar with seasonal price variations, but he raises his eyebrows at “that big of a price jump.”
In late 2014, when the bottom dropped out of oil prices, “it caught everybody by surprise … so it’s a bit of a natural rebound,” said Hillebrand, director of Argonne’s Center for Transportation Research. “(Gas) is so inexpensive, companies are realizing there’s room to price it up a little.”
Overall, analysts predict the national average won’t surpass $3 a gallon this summer. That’s due in part to increased production, meaning a surplus supply of domestic oil, and lowered demand as vehicles grow increasingly fuel-efficient.
“We’re in an unusual situation where stocks of oil and gas are at an 80-year high,” Hillebrand said…
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