My wife and I made a Sonic run yesterday and saw that the cost of gas at out local station had jumped about ten cents. I wasn’t shocked since I run a blog that details this – the wife is apparently not a reader since she very much was. Anyway, this jump is nothing. The dollar devaluing and the chaos in the middle east are going to work together to push gas prices to American economy busting highs. From Bloomberg:

Crude rose above $112 in New York for the first time in 30 months and Brent topped $125 on skepticism that Libyan output will rebound when fighting ends and as a weaker dollar increased demand for commodities.

Futures rose as much as 1.6 percent in New York as Barclays Capital said strikes on Libyan oilfields by forces loyal to Muammar Qaddafi ended hopes for a prompt resumption of exports, and will help send prices toward $130 a barrel. Raw materials surged as the dollar dropped to the lowest level against the euro in more than a year.

[…]

Voters in Nigeria, Africa’s biggest oil producer, go to the polls tomorrow to choose members of parliament in the first of a three-stage general election.

“We could easily come in Monday and see further disruptions because of the Nigerian election,” said Phil Flynn, vice president of research at PFGBest in Chicago. “This is critical because Nigeria produces high-quality crude that’s similar to the missing barrels from Libya.”

The dollar slipped as much as 1 percent to $1.4444, the lowest level since Jan. 10, 2010. A weaker U.S. currency reduces the appeal of raw materials, which are priced in dollars.

“If you want to know why commodities are up, take a look at the dollar,” said Phil Flynn, vice president of research at PFGBest in Chicago. “The dollar is dropping because the Fed is out of whack with the rest of the globe when it comes to rate expectations.”

Get any of your driving done before the summer. I think $6 gas in South Carolina is possible and who knows what it’ll be in places like California.