Last summer as gas prices shot up to $4 a gallon in some areas, the idea of taking a long road trip anywhere was often brushed aside for a week of playing video games or watching online movies instead. Well, taking into consideration the recent report from the Energy Information Administration (EIA), we can conclude that this summers road trip vacation plans can go back on the menu.

The EIA is estimating that gas prices should be hovering at right around $2.33 a gallon throughout most of the summer. This is of course assuming that the recessed economy does not come around, or OPEC does not slash their production of oil.

Gas prices have gone up somewhat since their amazing $1.40 low earlier this year, but the increase is mostly due to the slightly higher crude oil costs ($53 a barrel) and refineries trying to pocket a little extra profit for themselves. U.S. oil production sources tell us they should have the capacity to pump an additional 440,000 barrels this year, but our summer gas rates will none-the-less depend significantly on the plans of the OPEC oil cartel. Read the rest of this entry »