Experts warn of $3 gas in America by Memorial Day

Analysts at app GasBuddy are warning of a 70% chance that gas prices could hit $3 per gallon before Memorial Day. The prediction came Thursday after the nations of OPEC ended a meeting with no commitment to significantly increase oil production.

Members of the cartel of oil-producing nations decided to extend major cuts to production made last year during the pandemic through April. The cuts were used to keep the price from falling when large economies around the world shut down and average miles driven fell by as much as 50% in some places.

Only Russia and Kazakhstan were permitted to raise production, by 130,000 and 20,000 barrels per day respectively.

Following OPEC’s meeting, oil prices at West Texas Intermediate crude futures jumped 4%, putting oil at over $63 per barrel.

On Thursday, Gasbuddy.com had the average price of a gallon of gas in Orlando at $2.69.

Patrick De Haan, GasBuddy’s head of oil analysis, said the outcome will lead to a “running of the bulls” on oil prices.

“A continued recovery seems likely, led by American motorists filling their tanks at the fastest pace since the pandemic began. I predict the national average now has 70% odds of reaching $3 per gallon,” he said in a news release.

But Mark Jenkins, a spokesperson for the AAA travel club in Florida, said his organization is not sounding the alarm on $3 gas yet. “There’s a lot of volatility in the market,” he said. “A lot of factors could change things [before May].”

Jenkins pointed to refineries in Texas that were hampered by the freeze last month and are not up to full capacity. “As they get up and running, that could ease things,” he said.

Gasoline in the U.S. has not hit $3 a gallon since October 2014.