Gas price??????????

As a result of the disastrous earthquake and tsunami in Japan, the world's third largest economy is most likely to rely on imports of spot market liquefied natural gas ( LNG ) along with other fuels to cover the nuclear power outages as occurred after the last earthquake disruption at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear facility in 2007. Japan will rely on these imports to meet its natural gas needs because of limited domestic resources over the short term with potential longer term implications, as it most certainly will be reviewing its energy mix and nuclear agenda going forward. The power sector is the largest consumer of LNG, followed by the industrial sector and increased use of natural gas within both sectors has been one of the main drivers of growth in natural gas demand in Japan.

Gas prices are now the highest they have ever been during the month of April and at its fourteenth highest nominal price according to data from the Energy Department going back to 1990. The average gas price is $3.79 per gallon of regular, according to the Energy Department's weekly figures released today, an increase of 11 cents from last week and 93 cents from a year ago.

As the average price of gasoline edges closer to $4 a gallon -- with at least one gas station in Orlando at $5.59 a gallon, according to GasBuddy.com -- have drivers finally reached the point when they will switch to smaller cars or forego driving altogether?

Drivers can be especially resistant to changing their behavior, but Mantill Williams, spokesperson for the American Public Transportation Authority, said pump prices have taken a serious toll on wallets.

The average price of a gallon of self-serve regular gasoline in Orange County is $3.27 – the highest in O.C. during Christmas time, according to AAA and Oil Price Information Service figures.

The higher prices are the result of rising crude oil prices, said Marie Montgomery of the Automobile Club of Southern California.

"More oil is being used than is deemed produced on a daily basis," Montgomery said.

The Orange County average price is 12.7 cents more than a month ago and 35.6 cents more than a year ago, according to AAA and Oil Price Information Service figures.

As a result, some economists are dialing back their growth predictions for the economy this year. Although companies are starting to hire again, rising gas prices threaten to slow those gains.

Meanwhile, the price of gold and silver are also setting record highs. Gold hit $1,476 an ounce, while silver topped $41 an ounce -- a 31-year high.

"Commodities across the board are rallying, aggravating the inflation outlook," said Chae Un Soo, a Seoul-based trader at KEB Futures Co. "For now, more and more investors are looking to precious metals as a shelter."