Gas prices jumped Friday to their highest level since June, a possible preview of what many analysts believe will be a record spike in pump prices this spring.
But the current price surge could be short-lived. While gasoline has risen sharply in recent days in response to oil's dramatic climb to a new record above $101 a barrel, gas supplies have quietly grown to their highest level in 14 years.
"We've got a major supply cushion," said Jim Ritterbusch, president of energy consultancy Ritterbusch and Associates in Galena, Ill.
At the pump, gas prices rose 2.9 cents overnight to a national average of $3.115 a gallon, according to AAA and the Oil Price Information Service. That was the highest since June 8.
At the same time, March gasoline futures rose 1.17 cents to settle at $2.5337 a gallon on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Meanwhile, light, sweet crude for April delivery rose 58 cents to settle at $98.81 a barrel on concerns about potential supply disruptions and cold weather.
Many analysts believe gas prices will rise this spring to new records near $3.75 or $4 a gallon. But not everyone agrees.
Ritterbusch, for example, thinks the high level of supplies, and an eventual decline in oil prices, will pull pump prices down. He doubts prices will rise as high as $3.75 without a major overseas supply disruption or domestic refinery outage.