Oil and gas prices could double in the next four years, analysts say—with $7 per gallon possible by 2012. "It is increasingly clear that the outlook for oil supply signals a period of unprecedented scarcity," an analyst at investment bank CBIC tells MarketWatch.
Gas currently averages $3.56 per gallon in the US; oil, which hit a record high of $119.90 per barrel Tuesday before receding somewhat, could be at $200 per barrel within four years as demand continues to soar—mainly in the developing world. (More gas prices stories.)