$4 Gas

Buried deep in this story is an ominous prediction:

Consumers can expect retail gas prices to rise to $4 a gallon in the near future, Ben Brockwell, director of pricing at the Oil Price Information Service, said Wednesday. "There's no question gas will hit $4 a gallon," he said. "The question is how high will it go and how long will it last?"

Suddenly, this week's $2.96 doesn't sound so outrageous.

UPDATE: Here's the full story.

UPDATE II: The gas station I use most often (the Shell at Washington and Veterans) had gas for $2.79/gallon this morning on my way to work. When I went to lunch it was up to $2.99. Returning from lunch it was $3.19. Fortunately I topped off the tank while it was still at the low, low price of $2.99.