AP Photo

The forces driving gasoline prices upward are clear. It just depends on who you ask.

Some lawmakers and regulators pin the blame on financial speculators trading futures contracts for oil.

Others attribute the spike to seasonal changes, as refiners begin switching from producing winter grade fuels to more expensive summer blends.

Or it could be a collision of planned maintenance and unexpected outages at some of the nation’s refineries, which are keeping gasoline supplies low, despite a boon in domestic crude production.