GasBuddy: Pump prices expected to rise 35 to 75 cents nationally
BOSTON (GasBuddy) – Gas prices are about to shoot up, eventually climbing to the year’s highest levels as refineries across the nation prepare for maintenance season and the seasonal switch to cleaner burning gasoline according to the price tracking website GasBuddy which provides the data for wane.com’s Gas Gauge.
The hikes are due to summer’s more expensive blend of gasoline, required by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Clean Air Act, as well as refinery maintenance work lasting several months that causes gasoline production to drop, creating a pinch at the pump.
Last year, the national average jumped 69 cents during this season, from a low of $1.69 to a high of $2.39; in 2015 there was an even larger increase of 78 cents, from a low of $2.03 to a high of $2.81 per gallon.
Highlights of what’s to come at the pump across the nation:
Average gasoline prices will rise 35-75 cents between recent lows and peak prices, just in time for spring break travel plans. Gas prices will likely plateau in May.
America’s daily gasoline bill will swell from today’s $788 million to as much as $1.1 billion daily by Memorial Day. This is $312 million more spent every 24 hours.
Some of the nation’s largest cities will be $3 a gallon gasoline very soon, including Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Washington, D.C. and Seattle, with other large cities possibly joining due to various stringent summer gasoline requirements.
Watch out for more gas price volatility in the Great Lakes and West Coast versus other areas, based on prior year outages at refineries in these areas. As a result, there may be temporary gas price spikes.
“While I remain optimistic this year will not bring a ‘running of the bulls’, we’re likely to see some major increases at the gas pump as the seasonal transition and refinery maintenance get underway,” says Dan McTeague, senior petroleum analyst for GasBuddy. “Overall, most areas will see peak prices under $3 per gallon, and while that’s far under prices a few years ago, watching prices surge every spring certainly brings heartburn with it. If we were to add the 5-year average increase we see during the spring, the national average would be thrust to $2.85 per gallon around Memorial Day, a 59 cent rise from the $2.26 per gallon observed February 9.”
States observing the largest seasonal jump between mid-February and Memorial Day at the pump last year:
Michigan, up 95 cents per gallon
Ohio, up 92 cents per gallon
Illinois, up 92 cents per gallon
Indiana, up 90 cents per gallon
Wisconsin, up 86 cents per gallon
Minnesota, up 82 cents per gallon
Kansas, up 76 cents per gallon
Oklahoma, up 75 cents per gallon
Missouri, up 74 cents per gallon
Kentucky, up 73 cents per gallon