Your 401k May Be To Blame For Rising Gas Prices
DETROIT (WWJ) - With the price of gas this week up to an average of nearly $3.75 a gallon across Michigan at least one oil industry analyst says $4 dollars a gallon is likely by Memorial Day.
So if you're looking to lay blame for higher gas prices, you might want to look no further than your own 401k retirement account.
Despite the impact of recent political pressures throughout the Middle East, oil industry analyst Peter Butell tells WWJ that fund managers dealing in oil commodities also have a huge impact on gas prices.
"A lot of this is coming from this big institutional money, now in fact these same people are in there investing money in oil futures, and that is driving the price higher," say Butell.
AAA Michigan's latest survey puts the average price for a gallon of gas at nearly $3.75 up 91 cents from this time last year.
"If something were to happen that were to cut off the supply of oil from say, Saudi Arabia, then we would be looking at prices that are closer to $5 dollars a gallon then $4 dollars a gallon, the volatility is probably here to stay," says Butell.
A handful of stations in Metro Detroit are still selling gas for around $3.60 a gallon.
