GasBuddy says $4 per gallon national average not out of the question in 2022
Fuel projections from GasBuddy indicate that $4 per gallon as a national average is a real possibility for 2022.
The fuel savings platform predicts that a national average of $4 per gallon is possible by the spring on account of pandemic recovery and rising demand before relief or additional oil supply arrives later in 2022.
FILE - A gas pump is seen at a gas station on Nov. 23, 2021, in Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Paul Weaver/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
According to its projections, the average price of gasoline will climb early in the year, peaking at $4.13 per gallon around June. It projects that prices will start to fall after that, reaching just under $3 per gallon by the holiday season.
Major U.S. cities will likely feel the biggest impact – with select California cities like Sacramento and San Francisco poised to see prices top $5 per gallon.
Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, says higher gas prices are a signal that the economy is recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic.
"The higher prices go, the stronger the economy is," De Haan said in a statement. "No one would love to see $4 per gallon gasoline, but we’ll only get there on the back of a very strong economy, so it’s not necessarily bad news."