Middle East tensions are likely to drive Anchorage gas prices to at least $4.50 per gallon this summer, according to a senior analyst with the website gasbuddy.com.
Prices have been soaring since Iran announced it was cutting off oil supplies to France and Great Britain. At the same time, China and India are demanding more gas while some big East Coast refineries have shut down.
This summer Gregg Laskoski, a senior petroleum analyst for GasBuddy, expects those factors to mean the national average price of gas will be $3.91 per gallon. For the last three summers Anchorage's per gallon price has averaged $0.58 higher than the national average, which would make the local price at the pump $4.49 per gallon.
Laskoski’s biggest fear is what would happen to crude oil prices if Israel attacks Iran's nuclear testing facilities.
“If we’re looking at an average price of $4 per gallon, you can take that $4 and now add $2.50 to it -- because that's what $200 crude would bring about,” Laskoski said.
Under this worst-case scenario, Laskoski says that could mean Anchorage gas prices could drastically increase to more than $7 per gallon.
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