U.S. Drivers Waiting For Lower Gasoline Prices Instead Told To “Buckle Up”

The lowest gasoline price days of the season are now in the rearview for drivers in the United States, with the spring surge in gasoline prices right around the corner, according to GasBuddy’s Patrick De Haan.

“Buckle up,” GasBuddy’s head of petroleum analysis said in a Thursday morning Tweet, adding that the price lows were “nearly definitively behind us.”

Gasoline prices hit the low of the season last week when prices hovered pennies above the $3 per gallon mark. De Haan had previously suggested that prices could fall below $3 per gallon before driving season returned and prices began rising again, but crude oil prices have been putting a floor under gasoline.

Over the last week, WTI crude oil prices have risen to more than $76 per barrel—up more than $2.20 per barrel from this same time last week.

GasBuddy is now warning U.S. drivers that gasoline prices could rise on and off into Spring—the typical time for prices to ramp up due to a change from cheaper winter gasoline to the pricier summer blend and increased demand.

De Haan also warned California drivers on Wednesday to expect a significant price jump at the pump as the Southern California market has already rolled over to begin trading CARB-mandated summer gasoline as of yesterday. This is a requirement for California as of April 1.

Gasoline prices are still expected to rise even though gasoline demand, according to the latest EIA data, fell below 8 million barrels per day.

The odds of the national average for a gallon of regular gasoline hitting $2.99 or less now seem but a remote possibility.

By Julianne Geiger for Oilprice.com

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