Erie, Pa. gas prices near $4 a gallon: Where will they stop?
It's August and many of us are scrambling to check a few more things off our summer to-do lists.
Expect those last-minute trips to cost you more than you might have planned. In fact, filling your car's gas tank will set you back $3 or $4 more than it did just a few weeks ago.
On Monday, the average price for a gallon of regular gasoline in Erie was $3.97 a gallon, nearly 32 cents higher than the average price one month earlier, according to AAA's Fuel Gauge report. Generally, gas prices in Erie County ranged Monday from a low of $3.79 to $3.99 a gallon.
With some of highest gasoline taxes in the nation, motorists throughout Pennsylvania also pay some of the highest gas prices. The nation's average gas price on Monday was $3.83 a gallon, according to AAA.
Want to feel a little better about the money that's now missing from your wallet? Think back to this time a year ago when the average price of a gallon of gasoline in Erie was $4.44.
What's driving prices?
The sudden jump in prices can be blamed on a pair of factors, according to a report from Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, a website that tracks and forecasts fuel prices.
“Gas prices suddenly soared over the last week due to heat-related refinery outages that impacted some of the largest refineries in the country, at a time when summer gasoline demand peaks and as gasoline inventories slid to their lowest July level since 2015,” De Haan said.
On top of that, prices for crude oil, the raw material from which gasoline is refined, rose to more than $80 a barrel, the highest level in months.
De Haan said increases were driven by a reduction in supplies coming from Saudi Arabia and Russia, the second- and third-largest oil producers in the world.
Could prices go higher?
Although Gasbuddy reports that price increases should start slowing, there is a potential for future increases.
According to De Haan, "As we get closer to the peak of hurricane season, any new issues could easily push the national average over $4 per gallon for the first time in 2023."
Meanwhile, Andrew Gross, a AAA spokesman, suggests prices might level off.
“Last month’s extreme heat played a role in the recent spike in gas prices due to some refineries pulling back, but now operations are getting back to normal,” Gross said in a statement. "Coupled with tepid demand and declining oil prices, this may help take the steam out of the tight supply price jolts we’ve seen lately.”
More: Gas prices in Erie and Pennsylvania reach new record highs. Here's a list from across the state
More: Gas prices in Erie region to rise as summer nears. Where can you find the cheapest gas?
Contact Jim Martin at jmartin@timesnews.com.
This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Erie PA gas prices near $4 mark following a 32-cent price surge
