Pennsylvania gas prices on the rise as stations switch to summer fuel blend
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- It's a daily shock these days when you pull into the gas station with prices steadily climbing and many left wondering if we're going to hit the $4.00 per gallon mark again.
At $3.85 per gallon here in the Pittsburgh area, we're doing better than our eastern Pennsylvania counterparts, but that's a small consolation as prices continue to rise.
GasBuddy's Patrick De Haan, however, says that it's normal for gas prices to change seasonally.
"They spring up in the spring, and they stay higher through the summer," De Haan said.
De Haan says that the change to summer gas is ongoing in eastern Pennsylvania and has driven prices there up by 12 to 15 cents per gallon over the past week.
"Some of the gasoline flowing into the market is actually coming from refineries down on the Great Lakes which made the jump to summer gasoline already," De Haan said.
De Haan says that we will probably see a bit more of an increase in the area over the next couple of weeks -- but also says that he feels we're close to an end in the rising of the prices.
While it's tough to take compared to where we were just a few weeks ago, De Haan points out that we are basically on track with what we saw last year in the Pittsburgh area.
On top of the summer gas being more expensive, De Haan says that inspections and maintenance at refineries are partly to blame for the increase in prices and that it's hard to predict what's down that road.
He says that what's happening in the Middle East is not as impactful as things might seem.
There was an initial hit when things escalated with Iran, but that has slowed and the biggest impact we are feeling is OPEC keeping production down to keep oil prices up.
Relief probably won't come before September.
