Roanoke – Gas prices are on the rise in Virginia.
Drivers are navigating a lot more than just the roads. Prices at the pump have jumped into the fast lane and cruised up to 3.23 cents.
Experts say seasonal demand and attacks on oil tankers in the Red Sea are to blame. There was also a power outage at an Indiana oil refinery that caused a two-week shutdown.
Locals said they can’t believe how high the prices are.
“BP whiting processes about 435 thousand barrels of crude each day has actually had a power issue that’s had them shut down for the past 2 weeks,” Morgan Dean, AAA Mid-Atlantic Spokesperson said.
AAA officials said Virginia is among the top ten states in the nation to see the largest weekly increase in gas prices; the average around the region has jumped up 27 cents in just the past month.
Amid the hustle and bustle of rising gas prices, there’s a glimmer of hope for savvy drivers to ease the strain on their wallets.
“Thinking about a club membership, Sam’s Club, Costco, or BJ’s a lot of them do gas and they discount it for their members,” Dean said.
AAA officials said it’s not unusual for gas prices to climb this time of the year as the seasons start to switch.
“Summer blend gasoline is more fuel efficient, it’s better for the environment too in the hot weather, but it’s more expensive to make so we usually see a 10-15 cent jump at the pumps when we transition from winter blend in those tanks than summer blend going into those tanks,” Dean said.
AAA officials said that soon, we should see the pumps revert to slower and lower seasonal gains.