GasBuddy head of petroleum analysis Patrick De Haan argues the new coronavirus variant is not impacting gasoline demand.
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.
Signage is seen on a gasoline pump at an Exxon gas station in Brooklyn, New York City, U.S., November 23, 2021.
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.
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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.
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“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.”