Gas prices keep rising

The government's latest survey shows that the average price of regular in L.A. County was $3.182 a gallon, which to give you an idea is 22 cents higher than a month ago and 43 cents higher than two months ago. And the numbers are likely to keep going up, even though this isn't an especially heavy driving season. Part of the reason, of course, is the price of crude oil, which actually fell a little bit today after reaching $96 a barrel last week. What’s made the energy markets hard to figure out is that gas prices aren't rising nearly as fast as crude prices. That’s why nearly $100-a-barrel oil isn't automatically leading us to another recession - the way it would have 20 or 30 years ago. There are all kinds of theories on why the economy has held up (too much demand in China is a big reason), but the general consensus is that it can't continue - that consumers and corporations will have to pull back. That would probably mean a recession. The WSJ's David Wessel says that "the next $10 increase in oil could hurt consumers more than the last $10 increase." And that doesn't even factor in something truly nasty, such as war with Iran or some other big blow-up in the Middle East. If that happens, you might want to consider a bike.