Gas Price Jump Even Surprises Some Experts

Here we go again. Gas prices are going back up and it's even catching some of the experts by surprise.

In the last week, the price consumers pay at the gas pump rose by nine cents a gallon. The average price for a gallon of regular unleaded in Massachusetts is now $2.51. Last Friday it was $2.42.

"We had a king-sized break for a while there," said driver Sam Bradshaw. "How long did it last? A month? Month and a half? Then they started going back up again."

He says he can only afford to add $10 to his tank at a time. "Doesn't get me as far and now before I move the truck I stop and think, where am I going and why? That's what you have to do."

The price spike made David from Pelham, New Hampshire curious. He wrote in to our Curiosity web site: what is causing the gas prices to rise?

The answer- crude oil. It has spiked to $70 a barrel, a 55 percent increase since January.

Prices at the pump crossed the $2.50 mark about a month earlier than analysts like John Paul of AAA New England expected - with the heaviest summer driving demand still to come. Combine demand with lower than expected inventories, and you get the magic recipe for a price spike.

"Do I ever think we'll see gasoline under two dollars again? Probably not," Paul said.

We are still much better off than last year at this time, however, when unleaded was averaging $3.99 a gallon.

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