Have gasoline prices hit the summer peak

The price of gasoline was comfortably below $2 per gallon at the start of the year, and the crushing worldwide recession seemed to suggest an absence of any upward pressures on price.

What a difference a few months can make! Speculators have entered the market, and expectations of an improvement in the Asian economy have sent gasoline prices solidly higher as the chart from the Energy Information Administration reflects.

And the latest glance at data from the EIA released today shows gasoline demand is up 0.9% versus the same week a year ago. That seems surprising given that millions of jobs have disappeared and industrial demand has fallen dramatically.

Maybe all those lost jobs have translated into millions of job seekers driving to and from interviews and career groups?

Whatever the reason for increased demand, the EIA said it appears that the summer market may be "near, if not past, its peak."

Additionally, expected increases in demand due to vacation travel can likely be met by higher refinery production or imports, since these supply sources have met significantly higher demand levels in recent years.

Let's hope the EIA is correct.