In Washington the American Petroleum Institute, the oil industry lobby, called for more domestic production and the approval of a controversial pipeline from Canadian oil fields. And campaigning in Oklahoma earlier this week, former House speaker Newt Gingrich reiterated that he would lower prices with his “Drill Here, Drill Now’’ approach.
The issue is getting so much attention because high gas prices now - still months away from the peak summer driving season - have some fearful that further increases will hit cash-strapped consumers hard and derail the country’s economic recovery. Crude oil has climbed nearly $10, or roughly 10 percent, in less than a month, while the average price of gas in Massachusetts is more than 40 cents higher than it was a year ago.
“Rising gas prices could be the difference between an economy that continues to recover and an economy that sinks back into recession,’’ Markey, a Malden Democrat, said yesterday before meeting constituents in Medford.
At a gas station in Dorchester, student Catrina Hicks said rising gas prices have caused her to use public transportation more and limit how much she pumps into her Dodge Neon.
“I don’t know how much it costs to fill my tank because I never do it,’’ she said. “I’ll get half a tank or $30 worth.’’
Prices are not likely to fall in the near future, either. Chris Lafakis, an economist with Moody’s Analytics, forecast that gas prices will rise to $3.85 per gallon in Boston by Memorial Day and stay in that range for the rest of the summer.
Driving prices higher are fears that the standoff over Iran’s nuclear ambitions could lead to military actions by Israel, the United States, or European nations, disrupting oil supplies. If the turmoil were to escalate into war, Lafakis said, $5-per-gallon gas is not out of the question and would probably lead to another US recession.
