Whats driving up gas prices?
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WBRC) - The price at the pump is expected to steadily climb as the summer travel season is in full swing. AAA said you may be paying at least 20 cents more for a gallon of gas this summer as crude oil prices hit a seven-year high this week. Analysts said one of the reasons were seeing these increases is simply because more people are on the roads. They said the pandemic is easing, and thats giving them more places to visit this summer. So, the demand for gas is high, which drives up the price. Head of Petroleum Analysis at Gas Buddy, Patrick DeHaan, said oil production appears to be stuck at low pandemic levels, but demand for gas has increased during the summer travel season. And thats pushing the price of oil up significantly and thats really behind the increase in gas prices that weve seen and that were anticipating, DeHaan said. Another reason for the price hike has to do with the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, or OPEC. The organization and its allies havent reached an agreement on how much oil should be produced. That uncertainty has also contributed to the soaring gas prices. Things have pulled back down, but thats a risk going forward obviously with demand going up we do need to see more oil being added to the market, DeHaan said. DeHaan said OPEC controls a third of the worlds oil production, so that could be something that pushes prices higher in the future should the organization choose not to increase production. He said add it all up, and that means were all paying more at the pump. Unfortunately, it means higher prices are likely, potentially for the next three to four weeks until gasoline demand plateaus. I think thats something that will happen in late July or early August. Then we may start to see some relief, DeHaan explained. Some also worried that a shortage of gas tanker drivers would also drive up the price of gas, but DeHaan said thankfully that hasnt been the case so far. He said the problem with the truck driver shortage is that stations may temporarily see some delivery delays meaning stations could be out of gas for a short time, but the next delivery is likely on its way. Copyright 2021 WBRC. All rights reserved.