'They don't set the price, you and I do:' Will we soon see relief at the gas pump?
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) – Despite gas prices staying stable overnight, don't expect this to be the start of a leveling-off or a drop.
The experts have said more increases are on the way.
Seems like an appropriate story to do on National Bike To Work Day.
You may feel yourself wanting to scream at the gas sign, "enough already!"
The current issue with gas started during the COVID-19 lockdowns when no one was driving and the refineries were shut down.
Well…people are driving again.
"I think OPEC and the oil companies underestimated how quickly we would recover," Patrick De Haan of GasBuddy said. "Nobody knew. I didn't know how quickly the nation would recover, it's been impressive."
Now, all of that coupled with the war in Ukraine and effectively taking Russian oil out of the world market, De Haan explains that Americans are not slowing down consumption or demand and that causes prices to spike to record levels.
The question on everyone's mind…when will they go down?
"I certainly don't see long-term sizable relief," he said. "I think we'll probably stay with prices that are over $4 and Pittsburgh could eclipse $5. I don't expect them to hit $6."
Prices are already over $5/gallon if you use something other than regular unleaded. No matter your budget, this is tough to take.
De Haan was reluctant to put a timeline on when prices may peak because everything is volatile. However, he does believe August is possible.
With plenty of anger over gas prices, I took questions every day people have to De Haan to answer.
Why are we blaming this on Ukraine when it's not Ukraine, it's the gas companies?
"We don't blame Ukraine," De Haan explained. "Russia, which is a large oil-producing nation, started the mess that basically forced countries to punish them."
Why do we always have price increases for the holidays?
"They really don't, holidays are so short-term in nature that they're not noticeable when it comes to demand," he said. "That is, there is only a couple of days and those things are really blips on the radar."
If the price of crude oil isn't rising, why is the price of gas?
"Everyone's obsessed with the price of oil, you could have oil at a dollar per barrel and if there's only one refinery in the nation, you could have gas at $10," De Haan said. "Right now, we're kind of in the equation where there's not enough refining capacity that meets demands, so prices have gone up."
What are they making out of it?
"Anyone that has a product that's in demand, and that's making oil companies rich right now, but keep in mind, they're the price takes," he explained. "They don't set the price – you and I do by how often we fill our tanks."
And of course, the most obvious and frequently asked question…When will the prices of gas go back to normal?
"Nothing is normal," De Haan said. "This isn't a normal time, things don't return to normal until global current events go back to normal."
It wasn't long ago we were saying if you found gas for under $4/gallon, buy it, but now we have to wonder when we'll see those days again.
De Haan said things are so volatile, this could last at least through summer.
