By Rachel Pritchett
Gas in Kitsap County hit the $4-dollar mark Saturday, with the average price for a gallon of unleaded 37 cents above what it was a month ago, according to auto club AAA.
Kitsap’s average price now matches the statewide average, substantially higher than the U.S. average of $3.38.
Washington joins only seven other states that had $4-plus gas this weekend. Hawaii had the highest with gas there going for $4.47. Wyoming had the lowest at $3.41 a gallon.
Kitsap’s spiraling gas prices are coming within sight of an all-time high for gas and diesel. On June 19, 2008, gas in Kitsap reached $4.37 and never went higher. The record for diesel occurred near that time — $5.04 recorded on July 14, 2008.
The U.S. average in 2011 was $3.51. A decade earlier, it was $1.43.
The 2012 Outlook by Oil Price Information Service suggested that futures trading could spur national prices even higher in 2012.
But that could be more strongly offset later this spring, when refineries switch from winter to summer blends for gas, and supplies are expected to be much more plentiful than in winter.
Many areas, according to the analysis, could see gas drop lower below $3 a gallon in the second half of 2012.
