Gas may approach $3 per gallon

~ Prices are likely to increase 10 to 15 cents per gallon in the coming weeks, peak in May and drop off in late summer.

WASHINGTON -- Gasoline prices are surging again with summer on the horizon, pushing or even passing $3 a gallon in some places.

Drivers aren't expected to ease off on their mileage, sending demand higher than last year. But they are grumbling.

The Energy Department says it expects the price of regular to average $2.62 a gallon, 25 cents more than last summer, over the April-September driving period. But prices around the country already are above that.

Prices in Southeast Missouri are expected to remain lower than the national average.

"Missouri won't be among the top price payers," said Mike Right, spokesman for AAA in St. Louis.

According to Right, Missouri has always remained one of the cheapest states for buying gasoline, with prices much lower than the East and West coasts see.

While some consumers in Washington reported prices well over $3, Right does not think that mark will be eclipsed in Southeast Missouri this summer.

Gasoline Tuesday evening at Rhodes 101 Stops in Cape Girardeau was $2.59 a gallon, according to owner Jim Maurer.

Guy Caruso, head of the Energy Department's statistical agency, said prices at the pump, which averaged $2.68 a gallon last week nationwide, are likely to increase 10 to 15 cents a gallon in the coming weeks, peak in May and drop off in late summer. He said the national average can mask local price spikes.

"We assume normal weather," added Caruso, head of the Energy Information Administration. If a hurricane or a refinery outage causes supply problems, or if crude oil takes a major jump, prices will be higher yet.

Crude oil climbed above $69 a barrel Tuesday to the highest level this year before easing back somewhat. Wholesale gasoline for delivery in May was a shade over $2 a gallon, 29 percent higher than a year ago.

But Caruso said motorists are not expected to cut back on their summer driving -- a view mirrored by AAA which also predicts a busy summer travel season.

In fact, motorists are expected to use 1.5 percent more gasoline than last summer.

Said Geoff Sundstrom, a spokesman for AAA, "Although the price of gasoline is very high, the fact is the economy still seems to be growing. We're adding jobs, so we would expect we would see a relatively strong summer travel season."

Gas prices last week were 40 percent higher than the same week a year ago and are likely rise further as higher crude oil and wholesale gasoline costs move through the system, said Caruso.

Supplies are expected to be adequate, barring a major disruption, although some regions, especially the East Coast, may have to rely more on gasoline imports, the Energy Department says. Crude oil is expected to remain high, averaging $65 a barrel for the year, it says.

Refiners have been shifting away from the additive MTBE -- which causes drinking water contamination -- resulting in a greater demand for corn-based ethanol. That's pushing up prices "a few pennies," Caruso said.

The refiners have said they will stop using MTBE on May 5 when the federal requirement for a clean-air oxygenate is lifted as part of an energy law enacted last summer.

"It will be a challenge to meet the demand for ethanol, although production is ramping up," said Caruso. The ethanol industry has said it will produce enough.

Unknown is how high prices might go if the Gulf Coast is hit by another major hurricane this summer or if there is some other significant supply disruption.

Gasoline soared to a national average of $3.07 a gallon -- and considerably higher in some areas -- after Hurricane Katrina wiped out production in the Gulf of Mexico and shut down major refineries last year.

Staff writer Kyle W. Morrison contributed to this report.