No doubt about it: 2011 was a rough year for gas prices.
According to GasBuddy.com, which tracks prices and trends in the fuel industry, the average price of gas in 2011 was $3.513, which was 72.6-cents per gallon higher than the average price for 2010. That increase means that average Americans spent $400 more at the pump in 2011 than in 2010.
And now Time.com is asking the oh-so-unsettling question, “When will gas hit $4 per gallon?”
I don’t know if I want to know the answer. It will probably only upset me.
Why the high prices? Here’s what GasBuddy.com said was the reason for the increased prices in 2010:
“First, our economy in North America. If it continues to grow, that would provide upward pressure on prices- as the economy expands, we use more gasoline for everything from shipping, to our cars, to more manufacturing using petroleum. Second, geopolitical tensions could rise, especially in areas of the Middle East. Libya’s crisis may be done and over with, but Iran continues to threaten the West. Beyond those two key issues, we’ll continue to see prices race higher as summer approaches and we switch to cleaner burning gasoline.”
And they’re predicting that continued instability in the Middle East, particularly in Iran, will cause prices to get worse in 2012.
Yippee.