Gas Prices To Jump Considerably In May
The price of a gallon of gas at Idaho pumps is still lower than a good chunk of the country. But prices are about to go way, way up.
“I could complain, but it won’t help,” said driver David Lecheminant as he filled up on Monday.
Prices at the pump are expected to jump an average 60 cents a gallon by May.
Lecheminant said not having to drive often means a jump in prices at the pump won’t hurt him much.
“In this day and age, a lot more people are concerned about it,” said Lecheminant.
Beth Caudill isn’t so relaxed about it. She said it was upsetting.
“I don’t think you can put my reaction on-air,” said Caudill, laughing. She said the spike in prices is less than welcome.
Perhaps understandably so. The ever-rising price of gas can make drivers want to curse the pump. But what’s behind it all?
IdahoGasPrices.com said the answer probably won’t surprise you.
“Specifically it’s the threat from Iran to close the Strait of Hormuz,” said IdahoGasPrices.com senior petroleum analyst Gregg Laskowski.
Middle east unrest, said Laskowski, affects the industry in America more than you might even imagine. It has an influence on about 40 percent of the industry here at home. Right now, prices are shocking even industry experts.
“2011 ended the year with a national average price of gasoline at $3.25 a gallon. That price is the highest we’ve ever seen at this time of year.
That may be the national average, but right here in Idaho we’re sitting at $3.08 a gallon. It’s a result, said Laskowski, of easy access to cheaper Canadian crude.
The difference in price around the country is obvious. Hawaiians are paying an average $4.09 at the pump. Californians and New Yorkers are paying about $3.75.
