Gas prices are likely to hit an all-time high this summer, fuel experts said Monday.
Georgians are already paying their highest-ever February prices -- $3.51 a gallon, on average -- a number that could soar past $4.50 by summer, some analysts said.
"Typically February reflects some of the lowest averages of the year, and we’re already breaking records," said Jessica Brady, spokeswoman for the AAA Auto Club South.
A year ago, Georgians paid $3.08 per gallon.
The highest-ever average price for Georgia is $4.01, a record set in July 2008. In Atlanta, the highest was $4.11, set in September of the same year.
Gas prices generally start to climb around March or April, when refineries begin producing fuels formulated for summer use. Those mixes are more expensive to make than the winter formulas, said Phil Embry, a gas tax consultant with the Georgia Oilmen's Association.
That yearly bump has been compounded this year by the threat of an armed conflict between Israel and Iran, one of the world's largest fuel suppliers. If Iran is no longer supplying as much to Russia and Europe, Americans can expect increased demand for oil from other sources to impact their prices at home, he said.
Crude oil pries in Asia jumped to a nine-month high of close to $105 a barrel Monday after Iran announced that it had halted oil exports to Britain and France. The move was part of an escalating dispute over Iran's nuclear program.
"You’re going to be looking at probably $4 a gallon by springtime; probably $4.50 by summer," Embry said. "If they go to war it will get higher than that."
Phillip Young, of Villa Rica, is among those who will feel the greatest pinch from the price. Young commutes to Marietta for work each day, logging about 90 miles daily. His wife also works in Atlanta, he said.
The couple said they'd move to be closer to their jobs, but can't sell their home in this market. So Young did the next best thing -- he swapped his Chevy Avalanche in favor of a more mileage-friendly Nissan Murano. And when he switched jobs last year, giving up his company car in the process, he negotiated mileage reimbursement into his contract.
"I've seen it go up 60 cents a gallon since I started paying for fuel. It's terrible," he said, adding that with increasing costs, "We'll have to find something to trim back on."
Higher gas prices could dampen consumer spending and slow the recent improvement in the U.S. economy, some analysts said. A 25-cent jump in gasoline prices, if sustained over a year, would cost the economy about $35 billion, according to an Associated Press report. That's only 0.2 percent of the total U.S. economy, but economists say it's meaningful, especially at a time when economic growth is only so-so. The economy grew 2.8 percent in the fourth quarter, a rate considered modest following a recession.
Both Brady and Embry said the fuel market is extremely volatile and can be affected by a number of factors, including world demand, geopolitical events, weather and speculation.
"It will be really hard to predict what will happen the rest of the year," Embry said. "This being an election year … they will probably do a lot to keep prices down."
Michael Covington, of Athens, said he's mostly protected himself from pain at the pump: "I've known for decades that gasoline prices are volatile," he said via email. "I live four miles from work, and my lifestyle is not built around any assumptions about gasoline prices."
-- The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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