GasBuddy analyst Patrick DeHaan says it appears 2012 will yield an average annual gasoline price of 3-dollars-63-cents a gallon. In Illinois, the annual average is projected to be even higher, at 3-79. DeHaan says gasoline prices spiked at two different points during the year, one at the end of March, and the other in August.

 

“Basically, the year is two mountains, with one of the peaks occurring in March, and the other one occurring in August, and prices rising rapidly in anticipation, and falling rapidly after those two dates.”

 

DeHaan says the high prices during those times of year were caused mostly by limits on refinery capacity caused by scheduled maintenance, emergency repairs, or the switchover between winter and summer fuels.

 

DeHaan says that a GasBuddy survey of consumers nationwide indicates that this year’s high gas prices have led people to cut down on holiday shopping, even though the price of gas has dropped in recent weeks.