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Gas prices could spike 25 cents a gallon this month

Stephanie Asymkos
·Reporter

American drivers can expect to pay as much as 25 cents more per gallon at the pump for the rest of September, after a drone strike disrupted production at two major Saudi Arabian oil facilities over the weekend.

The increase will come as soon as this week, said Jeanette Casselano, a spokesperson for AAA, with the jump being as much as a quarter per gallon. As of Monday, the national gas price average was $2.56 a gallon, according to AAA.

All Americans will feel the surge, AAA said, but the spike translates to almost $4 a gallon for motorists in the country’s most expensive gasoline markets, largely on the West Coast.

Using data from AAA, here’s where drivers will likely see the most expensive and least expensive prices for regular gasoline.

The nation’s top ten most expensive markets:

  1. Hawaii ($3.64)

  2. California ($3.63)

  3. Washington ($3.18)

  4. Nevada ($3.10)

  5. Oregon ($3.03)

  6. Alaska ($2.95)

  7. Arizona ($2.83)

  8. Idaho ($2.76)

  9. Utah ($2.75)

  10. New York ($2.72)

Customers pump gasoline into their cars at a gas station in the Bronx, where gas prices have been raised to over $ 3.00 per gallon, June 1, 2018 in New York. - Rising gasoline prices in New York is having an effect on Uber and Lyft drivers revenues. This due to a rise on oil prices. (Photo by Don EMMERT / AFP) / TO GO WITH story by Ali BEKHTAOUI on "Uber, Lyft drivers pinched by higher gasoline prices" (Photo credit should read DON EMMERT/AFP/Getty Images)
BRONX, NEW YORK: Customers pump gasoline into their cars at a gas station in the Bronx. (Photo: Don Emmert / AFP/Getty Images)

The nation’s top ten least expensive markets:

  1. Mississippi ($2.18)

  2. Louisiana ($2.20)

  3. Alabama ($2.22)

  4. South Carolina ($2.22)

  5. Arkansas ($2.24)

  6. Texas ($2.26)

  7. Tennessee ($2.27)

  8. Oklahoma ($2.28)

  9. Virginia ($2.28)

  10. Missouri ($2.29)

Future of gas prices

The attacks in Saudi Arabia have taken 5.7 million crude barrels per day off the market, accounting for about 6% of the global supply. In response to the supply decrease, the price of oil is jumping. That means American motorists can expect volatility at the pump for the foreseeable future.

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Damage to the facilities is still being accessed, but it remains unknown if it will be days, weeks or even months before infrastructure is repaired.

“Whether this is a short- or long-term trend will be determined by the price of crude oil prices,” AAA’s Casselano said, “and how quickly the facilities in Saudi Arabia can recover and get back online.”

Stephanie is a writer for Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter @SJAsymkos.

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