Elevated gas prices to continue throughout summer, analysts predict

Drivers, beware — a JPMorgan analyst has predicted the national average per gallon gas price could hit $6.20 this summer, CBS News reports. 

Such a jump would constitute an over 30 percent increase from the current national average of $4.59, writes CBS News.

"With expectations of strong driving demand — traditionally, the U.S. summer driving season starts on Memorial Day, which lands this year on May 30, and lasts until Labor Day in early September — U.S. retail price could surge another 37 percent by August to a $6.20/gallon national average," commodities analyst Natasha Kavena wrote this week.

Kaneva estimates that a combination of lower supply and higher demand will push costs higher. That said, GasBuddy's Patrick De Haan has pushed back on Kaneva's reading (though he did admit such numbers are "not impossible").

"Personally, I just don't see the stars aligning to see the national average get to the $6/gallon level," De Haan wrote on Twitter. "However — there's little margin for error. $5 is a strong possibility. But $6? Not impossible. But improbable. For now."

OPIS' Tom Kloza agrees with De Haan. The White House is "absolutely in a tizzy" trying to get a grip on higher prices, he told CNBC. "I do think we could see a $5 handle, and I don't think we go much above that."

Meanwhile, national spokesman for the American Automobile Association Andrew Gross recently told Fox News Digital that drivers should expect higher prices to continue throughout the summer.