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After nearly 100 days of falling gas prices, we’ve seen an uptick in the average national gas price.
But don’t worry, prices are barely ticking back up, primarily due to anticipated supply shortages from Hurricane Ian.
Today’s average national gas price is $3.76, which is still about $1.25 less than at its peak this summer.
Gas prices have been a real rollercoaster in 2022.Hurricane Ian is barreling down on the Gulf of Mexico, likely decreasing oil production. How long that impact lasts depends on how much damage the storm deals and how long it takes to recover.
“Slack demand and lower oil prices should take some pressure off rising gas prices,” said Andrew Gross, AAA spokesperson. “But Hurricane Ian could cause problems, depending on the storm’s track, by disrupting oil production in the Gulf of Mexico and impacting large coastal refineries.”
The ongoing war in Ukraine and recent news of damaged gas pipelines will undoubtedly impact global energy prices this winter. While the damaged pipelines carried natural gas and not automobile fuel, fuel prices tend to follow overall energy prices.
Before this week’s price bump, the average US fuel price decreased daily for 98 days. That’s a lot of days!
But that decrease was hard earned after the average national gas price rose more than $1.50 between February and June of this year, topping out at $5.02.
Luckily, consumers are maintaining cost-reduction behaviors adapted during the summer’s price surge. As Gross said, lower demand and lower oil prices going into Hurricane Ian could absorb some of the supply dips.
Hurricane season has been relatively quiet to this point, but we are just now entering what is usually the high point of the season with a growing Hurricane Ian making its way north through the Gulf of Mexico.
At the same time, there is plenty of instability in the global energy market as winter approaches.
As for now, most signs point to prices rising slightly in the near future but not going near the summer highs.
