EXPERTS: Gas Prices to Go Back Up, Could Reach $3 +

WITZ Radio News is an affiliate of Network Indiana

STATE WIDE--Gas prices may not go down substantially until the end of the summer driving season. That's when the kids are back in school and it's well past Labor Day, says Gasbuddy.com's Patrick DeHaan.

"We'll be constantly seeing the ups and downs. We usually see a pretty big jump every one to one and a half weeks. That's followed by a big price drop," said DeHaan. "Most of the time I think prices will still be in the upper $2 a gallon range, occasionally going over $3 on a limited basis, like we saw earlier this week."

DeHaan said that's due to consistently higher oil prices. There was a price drop last week that affected gas prices, but only slightly. The prices rebounded.

"I don't expect any wide spread relief, or more sustainable relief to arrive until the conclusion of the summer driving season, when demand for gasoline starts to wane," said DeHaan. "We'll probably be stuck around 3$ for the next month, month and a half, barring any major hurricanes that could upset that."

He said by mid to late September, gas prices should be able to stay below $3 a gallon consistently.

DeHaan said even though you might be hearing about Pres. Trump's considering tapping the oil reserve, relief from that would only be temporary. He's against the idea.

"Two things are for sure in one's lifespan: death and taxes, but you can add uncertainty at the pump, especially this summer. President Trump has talked about tapping into the nation's Strategic Petroleum Reserve to put downward pressure on oil prices, but this would be a grave mistake and only lead to minuscule drops at the pump and only temporarily," said DeHaan.

"Last week's plummet in oil prices came thanks to Libya signaling it would resume oil exports, if there's anything to learn here it's that President Trump has little power over global supply and demand, and if anything, there's few options for the president to bring real change to gas pumps: slow motorists appetite for fuels, see sustainable increases in production or slow down the abrasive and inflammatory rhetoric that spooks the oil market. Until then, there's only one predictable outcome for gas prices for the remainder of the summer: volatile."

In Indiana, gas is up nearly four cents from last week, at $2.92. In Ft. Wayne, gas is up nearly 20 cents, at $2.97 per gallon.