BUFFALO (AP/WBEN) - The impact of the brutal winter weather in Texas is being felt around the country in a very tangible way, as people should expect an acute rise in costs at the pump.
The national average price for a gallon of regular gasoline was $2.60, up 10 cents from last week. Drivers were paying an average of $2.45 a gallon a year ago at this time.
Analysts say the winter weather problems along the Gulf Coast will be reflected in prices at the pump in the Northeast "until refineries can resume normal operations and road conditions lend themselves to regular fuel deliveries."
"Prices have continued to rise over the last few weeks, but now we're going to have an enhancement in the rise, spurred by what's going on with the extreme cold weather in Texas, which led to the shutdown of 20% of the nation's refining capacity," said Gas Buddy Petroleum Analyst Patrick De Haan. "Motorists across Buffalo, and really the nation, could see prices sneak up anywhere from 5-15 cents per gallon over the next couple of weeks."
Unfortunately, De Hann doesn't expect prices will drop all that much even after refining capacity is back to normal because March and April is when summer gasoline starts to be rolled out, but he also noted that demand will be a huge factor in determining that price point come the summer months.
"Things may continue to up," De Haan continued. "It shouldn't be too out of line with what we paid in 2018 and 2019 - prices back then during the summer were in the upper two-dollar-per-gallon range. In 2018, the national average peaked at about $2.98 during the summer months. We may stop short of that - it's really contingent on how much we continue to recover from COVID.
De Haan said his best guess is that Buffalo will reach about three-dollars-per-gallon this spring and summer.
