Goldman Sachs sees $5 gas this summer

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NEW YORK, May 29 (UPI) -- Even with pressure on gas prices easing en route to Memorial Day, Goldman Sachs predicts U.S. consumers could see $5 a gallon this summer.

Goldman estimates oil could reach $135 per barrel by mid-July, with accompanying gas prices hitting the $5-per-gallon mark, the New York Post reported Sunday.

But the evidence isn't there yet. Oil has fallen to $100 a barrel this spring, and dampened demand has helped keep gas prices down as well.

"We should be seeing some big declines at the gas pumps after Memorial Day," energy analyst Peter Beutel of Cameron Hanover told the Post. "Wholesale prices have been dropping, and that could cause some serious revisions downward at the pumps," he said.

The national average for gas over the holiday weekend was $3.80 a gallon.

However, consumer patterns are unlikely to change drastically, and summer demand paired with global uncertainty make Goldman's prediction of a return to high oil and gas prices not out of the question.

"Drivers try to do what they can, but they have to go almost all the places they go," energy researcher David Greene of the Department of Energy Web site fueleconomy.gov told the newspaper. "There's no magic gizmo that will drastically change someone's gasoline use."