August expected to have highest gas prices of the summer
SOUTH BEND, Ind. -
Have you noticed a jump at the pump? Gas prices have jumped about 15 cents in the last week, and now experts say those prices might continue to rise.
Experts anticipate August will likely have the summer’s highest gas prices. The already rising prices continuing another 10 or 20 cents.
The rising gas prices reflect crude oil prices which have hit their highest price in months. And concern over the oil supply is making experts wonder just how high these prices will go.
Three factors are driving prices up: the political outlook in Venezuela, which is a major supplier of crude oil to the U.S., the drastic decrease in oil exported from Saudi Arabia and the decline of over 50 million barrels of oil since March from oil inventories in the U.S.
The good news is, these prices might not last long.
“I do expect some relief in gas prices by mid and late September, just because gasoline demand starts to drop once summer is over and also because we switch back to cheaper winter gasoline starting in mid-September,” said Patrick DeHaan, senior petroleum analyst at GasBuddy. “So that could lead to some relief by mid-September. But of course, it’s tough to know how high prices will go by the end of August.”
Gas prices in South Bend are already more than 30 cents higher than they were a month ago. With the prices continuing to rise, how can you keep driving without breaking the bank?
Although you can’t do anything about the rising gas prices, there are a few ways you can combat to save money.
“What you can do is always shop around for the cheapest price. That is something that day in and day out there is a huge variety of prices from station to station,” said DeHaan. “And also when gas prices go up for example the GasBuddy app sends you a notification before big spikes in prices. So it’s always good to have something that alerts you and it’s always good to shop around for the cheapest price.”
Dehaan says those prices can vary from station to station by up to 30 cents a gallon. Price comparison apps like GasBuddy are a good way to find the cheapest gas in the area and save money.