Anthony Grisanti, an oil trader at GRZ Energy, told CNBC’s “Power Lunch” that $3-a-gallon gasoline this summer is a “foregone conclusion.”
“My personal opinion is you could see $3.50 (a gallon) very easily with a couple of refinery problems,” Grisanti said Tuesday. “Throw in a hurricane, and you could have $4 (a gallon) no problem at all.”
John Kilduff, senior vice president of energy risk management at Fimat USA, said production problems have kept supplies low.
“There’s just been a ‘refinery snag’ contagion over past two months,” Kilduff said. “It’s generated a tremendous premium for gasoline relative to crude oil. We’re certainly on our way to a $3 national average. Because it’s so profitable right now to make gasoline, the refineries have every incentive to get back on line. We’re seeing big imports of gasoline coming into the country and that may help. I’m not sure it will persist throughout the entire summer. I think we might see a bit of a price break through June and July before we head into the peak hurricane season, when these fears will be renewed.”
Oil recently fetched $62.15 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.