By Howell Dennis

CITY EDITOR

CROWLEY – Well, the inconceivable has finally happened. On Sunday, the national average for a price of gas reached

$4.005 a gallon up from Saturday’s average of $3.988. In Louisiana, the price was hovering just under $4 Monday morning as the state normally averages just a few cents under the national average. The average for a gallon of regular at Crowley gas stations was $3.96 Monday morning.

To make matters worse, the trend doesn’t appear to be slowing anytime soon.

After a torrid, record breaking rally Friday, which saw the price of a barrel of oil shoot up $11 to near $140, prices at the pump are expected to keep rising. The Friday gain was the largest one-day gain ever.

In just the past three weeks, the price of gas has risen by approximately 20 cents. Those drivers who use diesel fuel have it even tougher with the price for a gallon hovering around the $4.75.

Oil prices, which are trading at nearly double what they were last summer, have been mostly to blame for the price surge of the past few months. At this time last year, Louisiana residents were paying an average of $2.98 a gallon.

“I remember when it went over $3 per gallon last year how crazy I thought it was,” said Myrna Theriot as she pumped gas into her car at a local Chevron station. “This is just unbelievable.”

“I remember them saying it would eventually hit $4 and thinking that day would be way off in the future - I guess the future is now.”

Goldman Sachs, the most active investment bank in energy markets and one of the first to predict oil rising to over $100 a couple of years ago, said last month that oil could shoot up to $200 within the next two years. Almost a month ago, they predicted that U.S. crude would average $141 during the second half of 2008. This was up drastically from their original prediction of $107.