It's supply and demand. And gas is something that can't really sit around until you're ready to use it. So even if we are at an all time oil production high(which doesn't say anything about gas production) if the demand is too high then the supply drops which causes the price to rise. Add in the increased exports and we need more refining capacity. Then if you have something that shuts down an existing refinery, the other areas can't make up the difference and it goes through the roof. Last year at this time they were predicting summer gas prices of $5 a gallon and that never happened. So if it does happen this year, then something in the equation changed. There was supposed to be a commitee formed by the gov't to prevent the speculation from driving up prices but obviously that was a waste of time and money. But if we end up with a drought this summer, we won't need to use gas to mow our lawns so that might help!
