Gas Prices In Colorado Jump 25 Cents In 2 Days, Experts Say The Trend Will Continue
GOLDEN, Colo. (CBS4)- Coloradans are lining up at the pumps, some trying to stay ahead of the change in weather, others trying to stay ahead of a change in gas prices.
"I drained the tank," one motorist told CBS4.
According to the travel resource organization, AAA, things are changing rapidly.
"In the past two days, gas in Colorado has gone up an average of about a quarter, it is not going to abate anytime soon," Skyler McKinley a spokesperson for AAA said.
McKinley says they partner with a network of gas stations across the state to monitor pricing.
Their prediction that our average price per gallon which started the week at around $3.40 will be north of $3.75 by the end of the weekend.
"This is one of those moments, where, by the time I tell you what gas prices will be or our average, they're already going to have changed, and changed dramatically," McKinley said.
That type of immediate shift is tied directly to the price of crude oil, which soared to over $100 a barrel for the first time in nearly a decade.
Roughly 10% of the global supply of oil comes from Russia.
"The war is on everyone's minds, it is on the news every day, everyone understands what is happening so prices are moving up a little quicker than if it was a slow rise in crude oil," he said
Ian Lange a mineral energy economics professor at Colorado School of Mines says the rapid shifts come with the uncertainty around the crisis in Ukraine.
"It just it acts like there's less oil out there, overall, and then the market as a whole, sees a higher price for the oil that's not produced by Russia," Lange said.
Colorado's congressional leaders are split on how best to respond. Republicans say it's time to lean into domestic production.
"One of the things we can do in Colorado is produce more natural gas," Rep. Ken Buck told CBS4 Political Specialist Shaun Boyd when the invasion first began.
Democrats say the crisis in Eastern Europe highlights our need to shift away.
"I think we've got to focus on the transition to renewable energy," Sen. Hickenlooper told Boyd.
Lange says while we have the potential to drill more here in Colorado some of the leading oil and gas producers in the U.S recently pledged not to increase production in order to protect their investors' bottom line, a strategy referred to as capital discipline.