Experts: Gas Could Jump to $6 a Gallon Before Summer’s End

Remember when we woke up on June 1 and discovered that thanks in part to the suspension of the gas tax in New York and capping the tax in Broome County, gas prices had dropped by .20 cents? We celebrated by filling up our vehicles and gas cans.

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However, our excitement at the lowered price was extinguished on Friday, June 3, only two days after the initial price drop, when gas prices jumped to $4.79 a gallon - a .10 cent increase. But the rise in price didn't end there. On the morning of Tuesday, June 7, gas prices in Binghamton exploded (on average) to $4.99 a gallon.

Many in the Southern Tier were under the impression the halting of the gas tax would keep gas prices down for residents and visitors but it would seem halting the gas tax has only lent a hand in lengthening the amount of time until we pay over $5.00 a gallon.

Tom Kloza is the global head of energy analysis for the OPIS, which tracks gas prices for AAA, and he told CNN Business, "I think we reach $5 somewhere between this weekend and Juneteenth/Father's Day weekend."

Kloza went on to explain that as school lets out for summer break and more people are traveling, we will likely see the price of gas increase to nearly $6.00 a gallon. How soon might that happen? According to Kloza, "Anything goes from June 20 to Labor Day, we could certainly see the national average approach $6."

Experts claim the reason for the spike in gas price certainly has been impacted by Russia's invasion of Ukraine but that there's even more to it. The demand for oil has grown since lockdowns have been lifted and "more demand without increased supply can only drive up prices."

CNN Business also explains that the production of oil is much less than even before the pandemic and, "Today, about 1 million fewer barrels of oil a day are available to be processed into gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, and other petroleum-based products."

The reason for the lack of production also has a lot to do with state and federal environmental rules and other factors such as is the fact that oil and gas companies are under pressure to pay more dividends and "to do more share buybacks" and many are closing up shop rather than give in to what financial outlets are asking of them.

No matter the reason, and it appears there are several, one thing seems to be a given and that is that it is going to cost substantially more to do any sort of traveling for a while.