North Texans hit hard in the wallet as gas prices climb, again

NORTH TEXAS (CBSDFW.COM) - The consensus seems clear... drivers across North Texas say they are fed up with gas prices. On May 10 AAA reported gas price averages in DFW, across Texas and the United States are all at new record highs.   

"It's overwhelming," Darron Kemp told CBS 11 News.  

Nationwide regular unleaded gas costs an average of $4.37 per gallon. It's much more expensive for vehicles that run on diesel. The price of diesel is also at a new record -- $5.55 per gallon. 

"I remember when gas prices used to be $1 and $2 a gallon," Maurice Hall said. "The way they are right now is pretty outrageous. The way the prices are, it's hard to get out and do stuff you really want to do."

Gasoline prices are going up even though the price of crude — its biggest input — has fallen this week, to $105 per gallon.

Experts say the demand for gasoline is increasing as oil prices rise and Russia's invasion of Ukraine is contributing to already-high prices at the pump. 

"In order to help our allies in Europe we're sending them a lot more crude oil, gasoline and a lot more diesel, so that's also pushing up prices at home," Bernard Weinstein, retired associate director at the Maguire Energy Institute at Southern Methodist University said. "We need to be ready to absorb higher prices for energy…and by the way, it's not just oil, gasoline and diesel.  It's every other form of energy." 

Drivers say they hope prices drop soon—because they don't know long they'll be able to keep up. 

"Look at the cost of living, who can afford [gas]?" Kemp said.  "you would need to have a real good job, and if you [have a] blue-collar [job] you working a lot of hours just to afford gas."

According to the Energy Information Administration, gasoline stocks in the U.S. dropped by 2.2 million barrels last week, while gasoline demand rose from 8.74 million barrels a day to 8.86 million.