I'm basically already paying $4/gal. We all know what happens to gas costs during the summer driving season. Don't think I'll see $5/gal before the season's out unless something really crazy happens.
I think we see $5 by the end of the year. Easy. Maybe even by the end of summer. What's happening in the Middle East isn't going to go away IMO. Once the freedom genie is out of the bottle it's hard to put back in.
On top of that prices were already rising before this all went down because of dollar debasing. That isn't ever going to stop. Quantitative Easing will cause food prices to continue to go up and continue to destabilize third world countries first. So, I only see the price going up until it makes everything else go down. If we weren't printing money I'd be more optimistic, but we are stuck in a spiral at the moment with no way out. Lest we forget. Inflation has momentum and I suspect we will start hearing about QE3 a little next month and then confirmation of it in May.
But don't worry. Ben was on capitol hill testifying today. He assured everyone that there is no inflation and that we need to print more because we need more inflation. I don't think the Arab street got that memo.