Gasoline prices across the U.S. are going up and it rose again for the sixth straight week. Analysts deduced that if this hike pattern continues, by spring it is possible for the gas prices to hit $3 per gallon.
"Gas prices are really starting to surge across the country," Patrick DeHaan, GasBuddy's chief in petroleum analysis told MarketWatch. "The national average is now up 30 cents per gallon from its 2019 low."
It was stated that in the U.S., the average value of regular gas was $2.547 per gallon on Monday and this figure is up by 4.8 cents. Last week, gas price was only $2.499 which is higher than February's average of $2.336. The lowest rate this year was recorded on Jan. 7 with just $2.241 price per gallon.
Further, while almost all the states in the U.S. have gone up, there are regions that experienced the biggest surge and they are Michigan with 63 cents hike, Florida with 54 cents hike and Illinois with 56 cents increase in gas prices.
DeHaan said that Michigan was on top of the list with the most gas price hike because of the leftovers from the winter time's stocks.
"The Great Lakes dominates the list because of the excess stockpiles of winter gasoline," he said. "Refiners discounted that fuel to entice demand temporarily. Now with it gone from the system, the discounts are gone and more expensive gasoline is hitting prices. The deeper those discounts go on a yearly basis, the more of a pinch motorists get once that gasoline is gone."
Moreover, Chron reported that gas prices in all states have risen and they are likely to jump more due to the refinery fires in California and Texas. It was explained that the fires at two refineries - Exxon Mobil's Baytown and Phillips 66's Carson have contributed to the scarcity of supplies that usually takes place around this time of year since refineries close down plants for maintenance as preparation for the supply for summer's higher gasoline demands.
"Several major refinery issues flared up over the weekend, including fires at two facilities that could push wholesale gasoline prices up notably, mainly in the Pacific Northwest and the Gulf Coast, should the shutdowns linger," the analyst at GasBuddy said.
He further explained, "This is the time of year that energy markets are very sensitive to such unexpected outages as dozens of refineries across the country perform maintenance in a tight window ahead of the summer driving season. Any major outages can lead to tight inventory ahead of specification changes and have a severe impact on gas prices."
On the whole, it is predicted that there will be more gas price across the U.S. as the refinery maintenance season approach. The highest price increase that can be experienced in the next few months is up to $3 a gallon.
