Just to add a little bit of level-set here in terms of why prices are going up. It all boils down to traditional supply and demand, but here's a blurb from my humble and imperfect perspective on the details of the question, "WHY?"...
1) High-Use Season: Peak petroleum use season is here, folks. Prices reflect this increased demand. Almost always has.
2) Refining Capability: US refining capability is lower than ever. Gas doesn't convert itself from oil; it takes a refinery to seperate that particular product from crude oil. Given that refineries are extraordinarily capital-intensive, I don't see the private sector stepping forward (just yet) to start building new ones here stateside...
...in short, you can be sitting on a mountain of oil but it doesn't mean squat unless you can convert that into gas.
3) RFG (Reformulated gas): Thank EPA mandates for this additional bump in price in certain areas of the country. Certain "blends" of gas are much more expensive to create; this additional expense certainly gets passed on to the customer
4) OPEC Supply Reduction: The OPEC cartel has reduced supply, thereby affecting crude oil prices and sending the raw material price (crude oil) up. This also gets passed on to the customer paying at the pump.
5) Global Increase in Oil Consumption: Even though it's a larger issue than this, I like to sum it one up in one word: CHINA.
Their exploding economy is going to cause the US no ENDS of grief, as they will be aggressively competing with us in terms of petroleum demand as the Chinese population keeps climbing the stairs of prosperity.
Increased demand with a supply that is staying steady (if you're optimistic) or starting to fail and drop off (my view) is basic math.
Enjoy $1.70-1.80 gas while you can. My guess is the next 5 years will bring prices up to the $2.75-3.00 range and it will only go up from there.
