The price of gas now averages $3.20 and may move up another $.20 to $.30 in the next month.

According to Reuters “The national average for self-serve regular unleaded gas was nearly $3.20 a gallon on March 7, up about 9.44 cents per gallon in the past two weeks, according to the nationwide Lundberg survey of about 7,000 gas stations.” The sharp move up in the next few weeks will be driven by high crude prices and low margins at refiners which will need to up prices to improve profits.

The projection is another not good piece of the news for the economy and may even be devastating. With consumer buying capability already damaged by mortgage defaults and rising food prices, it would be

tough for the economy to suffer another blow to the public’s ability to spend money beyond fundamental living costs.

Several industries could see sharp declines in profits due to higher fuel prices. Auto companies generally invent their highest margins on pick-ups and SUVs which use more gas than smaller cars. Retailer may find it tough to drive traffic to their stores whether consumers are trying to cut duration spent in their cars. The airline industry is likely to squeezed by higher jet fuel.

No one wins apart from the oil companies.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com.

Original post by Douglas McIntyre

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