Central Kentucky residents filling their cars with gas on Wednesday said they were frustrated with a recent spike in gasoline prices, but officials say it could be a while before prices drop back.
Most drivers, including Nakia McIntyre of Lexington, said they didn't really have any other options, so they reluctantly handed over the cash, paying as much as $3.30 a gallon depending on the location.
"There's nothing you can do but pay it," McIntyre said.
Christopher Oakford, a spokesman with AAA in Lexington, said gas prices are high because of ongoing trouble in North Africa and the Middle East. Protests have arisen in Libya against the regime of Moammar Gadhafi.
A week ago, gas prices in Lexington were about $3.17 per gallon, according to GasBuddy.com. A year ago, a gallon of gas cost $2.65, the site says.
Oakford said gas prices spiked Tuesday morning. On Wednesday, the average gas price in Lexington was $3.18 for a gallon of regular, unleaded gas. He said a driver would be in lucky to find a station selling gas for $3.10, and he said many stations were showing prices at $3.29.
Oakford said the price of crude oil is increasing because of fear over a possible disruption even though there has not yet been any change in supply.
Oil prices on the New York Mercantile Exchange hit $100 per barrel Wednesday for the first time since 2008, driven by growing concerns about global supplies, as Gadhafi continued to lose his grip on oil-rich Libya.
Similar uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt this month already had markets on edge before protests escalated in Libya, which has the biggest oil reserves in Africa.
The International Energy Agency and Saudi Arabia have pledged to make additional oil available to cover any shortfall in world supplies, but that hasn't eased tensions in oil markets.
Larry Goldstein, a director at the Energy Policy Research Foundation in Washington, said Libya's oil is a high-quality variety that produces valuable petroleum products like gasoline, jet fuel and diesel. Some refineries won't be able to run on Saudi Arabia's lower-grade crude, so a sustained shut down in Libya could start a bidding war for comparable kinds of crude.
"That would raise product prices immediately," Goldstein said.
Analysts say concerns about violence in North Africa and the Middle East have added a "fear premium" of about $10 per barrel of oil.
The rise has pushed retail gasoline prices higher in the U.S. despite ample supplies in most parts of the country.
Gasoline prices jumped 8.2 cents per gallon in the last month and $1.28 per gallon in the last year. The national average for a gallon of regular on Wednesday rose another 2.3 cents to $3.194, according to AAA, Wright Express and Oil Price Information Service.
Tom Kloza, publisher and chief oil analyst at Oil Price Information Service, said he expects gasoline prices will continue to rise in the next few months to a spring peak of between $3.25 and $3.75 per gallon. And energy analyst Jim Ritterbusch said he doubts the national average will climb to $4 a gallon or higher, but he added that prices are difficult to predict because of the rapidly changing Middle East situation.
AAA spokesman Oakford recommended that drivers look for the cheapest prices at the pump because it puts pressure on gas stations and suppliers to keep the prices as low as possible.
Drivers should not be concerned about using cheap gas in their cars, he said.
"The oil and gas industry in the U.S. is very, very tightly regulated and it's all good, quality product," he said.
McIntyre, who handles claims for an insurance company, filled her car at the Thornton's gas station at 1120 Winchester Road before going to work. McIntyre said gas was $3.09 when she last checked and didn't realize the price had increased.
McIntyre planned to share this news with friends on the social networking site, Twitter, Wednesday morning.
"It's high," McIntyre said. "I was getting ready to tweet and say, 'gas is $3.26.' I can't believe it."
The BP station at Mapleleaf Drive and Man o' War Boulevard had gas for $3.14 on Wednesday, according to gasbuddy.com, which lists stations and prices for a given location. The highest amount for regular gas was $3.35 per gallon at 3527 Lansdowne Drive.
The national average on Wednesday as $3.19 per gallon for regular gas, which was up two cents from Tuesday and 6 cents from a week ago, Oakford said. The state average Wednesday was $3.15 per gallon, which was up five cents from Tuesday and nine cents from a week ago.
"It's crazy," said Shareika Lindsey, who was filling up at Speedway on Winchester Road, where gas was $3.27 Wednesday morning. "I wonder why it's like this. One minute it's down then the next minute it's breaking your pocket."
