The short answer?

It’s summer, people are driving more, and gasoline demand is at its peak.

But there are many factors that can contribute to gas prices rising and falling, according to experts. Those factors range from terrorism, to weather, to the stock market.

According to Butler University economics professor Bill Reiber, gas prices have been peaking since around September 2005, when Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast.

Reiber says that off-shore refineries were either destroyed or damaged to a point that they couldn’t meet the country’s gas needs. More recently, the start of the American “driving season,” associated with Memorial Day and Independence Day, caused gasoline demand to go up.

Other factors include the war in Iraq, uncertainties in the oil industry about possible terrorism, and natural disasters that could impact refineries.

How high will prices go?

Reiber said that there’s no reliable way of predicting how high prices will go. Again, he said, uncontrollable factors such as weather and “terrorism” affect gas prices.

Greg Seiter, a spokesman for the American Automobile Association’s Hoosier Motor Club, says that an exact prediction of gas-price highs is impossible.

“I think it’s important to know that there’s no one on the face of the planet that can predict gas prices,” said Seiter. “This year’s market has been like any other. Typically, after spring we will see prices level off.”

Seiter echoed Reiber, saying that unpredictable scenarios, like terrorism, could cause gas prices to skyrocket.

What causes price differences in Indiana, compared to the u.s.?

Indiana, as well as the whole Midwest, currently has some of the highest gas prices in the country — and Seiter said that is uncharacteristic for the region.