Gas Prices Up for Nearly All; 70% Expect $4-A-Gallon Gas by July

Thursday, January 20, 2011

Nearly nine-out-of-10 Americans say they are paying more for gas than they were last summer and expect to pay even more six months from now. Most say $4-a-gallon gas is likely by July 1.

A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 87% of Adults say they are paying more for gas than they were six months ago. At the end of August, just 40% said the same.  Only one percent (1%) say they are paying less for gas now, while nine percent (9%) say they're spending about the same amount.  (To see survey question wording, click here.)

The number of adults who expect gas prices to increase even more has reached its highest level since March of last year.  Eighty-seven percent (87%) say it is at least somewhat likely they will be paying more for gas in six months, including an overwhelming 75% who say it is Very Likely. Just seven percent (7%) do not expect to spend more for gas in six months' time.

Seventy percent (70%) say it's also at least somewhat likely that gas prices will rise above $4-a-gallon by July 1, with 40% who believe it is Very Likely. Twenty-four percent (24%) say it's not very or not at all likely. A year ago, Americans were evenly divided over whether gas would increase to over $4-a-gallon.

By comparison, in June 2008 when gas prices were rising to record levels, 60% of voters said it was at least somewhat likely that the price per gallon would reach $5 that year and 35% thought $6 was even more likely.

But by October 2009, with gas prices falling, a plurality saw the possibility of gas below two dollars a gallon by year’s end. 

(Want a free daily e-mail update? If it's in the news, it's in our polls).  Rasmussen Reports updates are also available on Twitter or Facebook.  

The survey of 1,000 Adults nationwide was conducted on January 16-17, 2011 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology. 

Most voters predicted in early December than the Obama administration's decision to continue a ban on offshore drilling along the Eastern seaboard and in the eastern portion of the Gulf of Mexico would drive up gas prices.

Thirty-six percent (36%) of adults say they are driving less now than they were a year ago because of the high gas prices. Only nine percent (9%) are driving more. Fifty-three percent (53%) say they are driving just as much as they used to. This is comparable to findings last March.

Gas prices remain an important factor in car buying. Seventy-eight percent (78%) of adults rate them as at least somewhat important when deciding on their next auto purchase, with 50% who say they are Very Important. Just 16% do not put much importance on gas prices when buying their next car. These findings are virtually unchanged from June 2009 as the gas price bubble was bursting.

Most Americans continue to believe that developing new sources of energy is more important than reducing the amount of energy we now consumer.

Despite last year's catastrophic oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico, the majority of adults favor both offshore and deepwater oil drilling. 

But 66% of Americans say renewable energy resources like solar and wind are the best long-term investment for America, while only 23% say fossil fuels like coal, gas and oil are the better investment.  This is the highest support for renewable energy found to date.

A sizable number of Americans say they would consider buying an electric car in the next 10 years, but they are less enthusiastic when told the price tag.