By BOB BARNARD/myfoxdc
WASHINGTON - Gas prices are going up. And up. And up. And now, the Energy Department predicts the cost of gasoline this summer will be 40 percent more than last year.
In the District of Columbia, the average price of regular unleaded jumped four cents a gallon between Monday and Tuesday.
"I think it's all kind of a farce," says driver Kathryn Abate. "Because the oil prices have gone up a little, but not really to the extent that gas prices have. So it's just like a 'predicting' thing which I think is kind of unfair to consumers."
The experts blame rising gas prices on unrest in the Middle East and a fear factor that goes with it.
"You have traders and speculators who are betting that the price of crude will continue to rise because of all the uncertainty out there," says John Townsend of AAA Mid-Atlantic. "And then finally the fact that you have economic recovery in the leading economies of the world, such as China and India, so demand is up globally."
But Townsend says demand here in the U.S. has been dropping the past five weeks. So prices may not soar as high as the government is predicting.
What are the latest numbers? Nationally, the average price for a gallon of regular unleaded is $3.79. It's $3.71 in Virginia, $3.78 in Maryland, and just three cents shy of $4 a gallon in the District.
"So, it's conceivable that most of us will end up paying $4 or more for gas this summer," Townsend says. "And in the Washington, D.C. area, especially in D.C. proper, that may happen before the week is over."
In the District, gas prices vary greatly. In Southeast, we saw regular unleaded selling for as low as $3.89 a gallon. $3.81 if you pay with cash.
In upper Northwest, it's as high as $4.19 for that same regular unleaded.
But over near the Kennedy Center, we watched one driver gas up paying $4.69 for that same grade of gasoline.
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