High Gas Prices Likely to Stick Around Through Holidays – NBC 7 San Diego

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Nowadays, when you refuel, you may have lighter bags than you expected.

“I’m paying $ 5.09 a gallon now,” said Rita Bander, a San Diego resident. “I’ve never seen it so high, never.”

“I just topped up $ 82,” said Jordan Martin, a San Diego resident. “[It’s] pretty much for me because I know I could get a full tank for maybe $ 70 a month ago. “

According to data from AAA, gas prices have soared to a seven-year high, hitting a national average of $ 3.41, up $ 1.28 from a year ago. And in San Diego the prices are much higher.

“The current average for the San Diego area is now $ 4.62 for a gallon of regular unleaded,” said Doug Shupe, AAA spokesman. “That’s seven cents more than a week ago, 22 cents more than a month ago, and $ 1.47 more per gallon than a year ago.”

“It’s a difficult situation,” said Alan Gin, an economics professor at the University of San Diego.

Gin says the surge was partly due to the reopening of the economy.

“When the pandemic broke out in 2020, OPEC scaled back its production sharply because global oil demand was falling,” said Gin. “And so the price [of oil] plunged to below $ 10 a barrel. Now that the global economy is picking up again, oil is being used more and more around the world, and that has resulted in the price of oil rising from less than $ 10 a barrel to over $ 80. “

As the Christmas season approaches and more people take to the streets, the high gas prices will most likely remain.

“I think we might see a little relief on prices in early 2022, when travel wears off,” Gin said.

To ease this financial pain, AAA has a few tips for now:

“Don’t adapt your driving habits to speed, because the faster the vehicle moves, the more fuel you burn when you park in the shade to reduce the build-up of heat in the vehicle’s cab,” said Shupe. “And when you go on your road trips on vacation, try to stow everything in the trunk of your car instead of using these overhead racks as this creates drag and reduces fuel efficiency.”

Quick tips as we are all waiting for relief.

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