AAA: Tri-State Area Gas Prices At Highest Since 2008
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- This Fourth of July, gas prices are the highest they've been in six years.
Shirley Dews filled up her gas tank Friday, but not to get out-of-town this holiday weekend.
"You can't really go anywhere because you can't afford to," she said.
That's because drivers in the Tri-State area are paying the highest Fourth of July pump prices since 2008, CBS 2's Andrea Grymes reported.
"I'm kind of used to it. I drive to Stanford, Conn. from Long Island everyday," said driver Tom Burns.
Right now, the nationwide average for a gallon of regular is $3.66.
To beat that in the Tri-State area, you'll have to drive to New Jersey. The statewide average there is $3.57 for a gallon of regular.
The price jumps to $3.94 in New York and $3.98 in Connecticut, but many stations in the state are much higher.
"A lot of people are talking about the situation in Iraq as being a cause and factor, but we've been around these prices since mid-April," said AAA spokesman Robert Sinclair.
Sinclair said the increase comes from the normal rise and fall in the price of gasoline. He said hurricane season is more of a concern than conflict in the Middle East.
On Long Island, the average price of regular is just over $4 a gallon.
But at one Sunoco in Garden City, regular is going for $3.89 and staffers said it'll drop by 6 cents on Saturday to drive in customers -- a bit of a bargain for James Mignon who said he can fill up for less than $50.
"Out east it took me almost $60, and even when you go closer to the city it's more on the highway over there," he said.
So when can drivers expect to see some relief? AAA said if the weather, economic and political climates stay the same and don't get worse, you can expect lower prices at the pump this fall.
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