SAN ANTONIO – Still days before Halloween and local drivers are in for a frightful sight - gas busting the $3 a gallon mark. And, one analyst says there is no relief yet in sight.
For consumers it means scaring up more cash to get to work, drive the kids to school, or run errands.
“I could fill up my car for $15. It’s double,” said Sharron Walker. “Now, it’s $30 to fill up.”
The price of a gallon jumped nine cents in the past week. It’s up 26 cents in the past month, on average.
And, compared to one year ago, it’s costing about $17 to fill up the tank. That’s roughly the cost of a large pizza with the works or the monthly Netflix bill.
Why the sharp rise at a time of year when prices typically plummet?
“Oil is at a seven-year high now, nearly $83 a barrel for West Texas intermediate crude, and that’s what’s pushing gas prices to a seven-year high,” said Patrick DeHaan, chief analyst for GasBuddy.
He said with the developing energy crunch in Europe and China, the gap between supply and demand is widening, and no relief is in sight for consumers’ wallets.
“Don’t expect things to get better for the holidays,” he said. “In fact, they could get a little bit worse.”
The average price for gallon of gas locally was $2.90 a gallon on Tuesday.
