Business & Tech

Who Do You Blame For The Spike In Gas Prices?

Ask 10 different people and you might get 10 different answers as to why gas prices have spiked sharply in September.

The facts are indisputable.

According to AAA, the average price for a gallon of gas in Massachusetts is presently $3.88. That's a whopping 16 cents higher than it was just one month ago. The price has actually soared to over $4 a gallon at some Middlesex County self-serve stations.

Ask 10 different people to explain the cause of the off-season spike and you might get 10 different answers. Some have blamed OPEC, while others have blamed big oil companies. A recent rash of severe weather has been seen as a cause by some people, as have the energy polices and proposals of one political party or another. Still other people have blamed oil speculators on Wall Street.

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Democrat Ed Markey, a Massachusetts congressman who represents Medford, has previously. Iran won't sell oil to Great Britain and France, and Saudi Arabia cut its oil production late last year.

What do you think? What do you believe is the cause for the recent spike in the cost of gasoline and do you think it has topped out or do you expect it to climb even higher over the next several weeks?

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