Fuel prices have skyrocketed across the US, with a gallon of gas reaching past $5.00 in some parts of the country.
The price of petrol has been continually climbing for the past 32 days, causing many Americans to spend as much as 10% of their income on gas.
Experts are puzzled why prices keep ascending, as many drivers tend to shy away from long trips in the winter months due to slick road conditions.
According to AAA’s Daily Fuel Gauge report, the national average for a gallon of regular gas is $3.73, up two cents from yesterday.
A year ago, the median price was $3.56 per gallon.
The escalating cost of fuel comes as many Americans are facing an end to Bush-era tax cuts and are already coping with smaller paychecks and less disposable income.
KTLA reports that regular fuel costs $5.09 a gallon, while premium can run up to an eye-watering $5.39 a gallon.
With most non-hybrid vehicles getting between 20-30 miles per gallon and most drivers averaging 29 miles a day, the price spike is worrisome, especially since fuel prices tend to rise during the spring and summer months.
Fuel prices have skyrocketed across the US, with a gallon of gas reaching past $5.00 in some parts of the country
The cause of the price hikes is complex – CNN Money reports that it is a “confluence of factors, from rising crude oil prices, to production cuts and refinery closings”.
In addition, consumer reports show that the job and housing markets are slowly but surely creeping back to where they were before the recession, meaning the cost of oil has been rising with it.
North Dakotans have paid the most for fuel, based on their income. According to AAA’s Fuel Gauge Report, the average gas price is $3.67 a gallon.
While it’s not the priciest in the nation, it is a whopping 10.3% of their income.
Prices typically rise in March and April, when car owners begin to travel longer distances.
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New York’s Attorney General has launched an investigation into hundreds of complaints of prices being increased in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy.
Eric Schneiderman said the largest number of complaints concerned increased fuel prices, but other emergency supplies were also affected.
“Price gouging” of essential consumer goods is forbidden under New York law.
More than one million people in New Jersey and New York are still without power a week after the storm hit.
Although fuel supplies are reaching petrol stations across the region, around one-quarter are still closed in metropolitan New York.
At the weekend, long queues of cars and people carrying red canisters built up at petrol stations.
As a result of the storm, 8.5 million homes and businesses were left without power, prompting a surge in demand for generators and hotel rooms. Tens of thousands of people have been displaced.
Eric Schneiderman said that consumers had contacted him to report “possible gouging for emergency supplies like generators, hotels raising rates due to ‘high demand’, as well as increased prices for food and water”.
New York’s Attorney General has launched an investigation into hundreds of complaints of prices being increased in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy
In a statement, the attorney general said that under New York state law, retailers were not allowed to charge “unconscionably excessive prices” for goods required for personal, family or household purposes when there was an abnormal disruption of the market.
He pledged to do “everything we can to stop to stop unscrupulous individuals from taking advantage of New Yorkers trying to rebuild their lives”.
Transport authorities opened more subway lines on Monday, as more commuters returned to work and one million students returned to school for the first time since the storm.
But platforms were teeming with travelers, trains were overcrowded and limited bus services struggled to meet the demand for services into New York City.
Hundreds of people joined queues early on Monday for the Jersey City ferry service to New York.
As overnight temperatures fell close to freezing, forecasters warned of a new storm approaching the US east coast.
According to the National Weather Service, the coastal storm could reach South and North Carolina late on Tuesday before spreading northwards, strengthening as it moves up towards New Jersey with gusts of up to 50 mph (80 km/h) by Thursday.
“Prepare for more outages,” Weather Service meteorologist Joe Pollina told Associated Press.
