SYRACUSE, N.Y. (NCC News) — Drivers in Central New York are paying nearly a dollar more per gallon of gas than last month, as prices in New York State have climbed to $3.81 for regular, according to AAA.
“It’s something I need, so it kind of sucks,” Liverpool resident Amanda McCarthy said. “It’s impacting me heavily, but it’s not just me. My grandmother, she’s on a fixed income, and it’s really affecting her everyday budget to be able to do anything.”
Gas in New York State is still $0.12 cheaper than the national average of $3.93.
AAA Communications Specialist Valerie Puma credited the cheaper regional prices to colder temperatures, as warmer areas have already switched to summer blends of fuel.
“Summer blends have pricier additives to help prevent evaporation during the hot summer months,” she said. “Around this time, we would normally see a switch to that.”
Earlier this week, Israel and Iran exchanged missile strikes on major oil and gas facilities. Israel hit the Iranian portion of the world’s largest gas field, prompting Iran to strike a facility in Qatar that the Associated Press reports to supply one-fifth of the world’s gas.
By Friday evening, Intercontinental Exchange reported the price for crude oil to have risen by nearly 50%.
“The pump prices that we see at gas stations are about 57% to 60% directly correlated to the crude oil price,” Puma said.
The White House announced it would release 172 million barrels of oil over the next four months from its strategic reserves to counter surging prices. Puma said it’s uncertain how quickly the oil release will impact the cost of gas.
“It could be kind of slow,” she said. “It’s been a few days since that announcement, and we haven’t seen any immediate relief on the oil market, just as the price of crude oil continues to climb.”
In the meantime, people like Ryan Seymour will continue to drive on portions of a tank.
“I got an eight cylinder truck that takes like $60 to fill,” he said. “I have to put, like, $25 at a time in it. It’s definitely costly.”
VIDEO TRANSCRIPT
REPORTER SPENCER BULEY: This week, Israel and Iran traded attacks on what the Associated Press called some of the biggest oil and gas facilities in the world. The war might seem far from home here in Central New York, but its impact still could be reaching your wallet.
AMANDA MCCARTHY, LIVERPOOL RESIDENT: The price of gas is crazy
SPENCER: According to AAA, gas prices have risen 99 cents in the last month, with the national average peaking at $3.93 per gallon for regular gasoline.
MCCARTHY: It’s something I need every day, so, it kind of sucks.
SPENCER: Amanda McCarthy lives in Liverpool but drives to Syracuse each day for work. But she’s not only concerned for herself.
MCCARTHY: My grandma, she’s on a fixed income, and it’s really affecting her and just her everyday budget to be able to do anything.
SPENCER: The prices in New York State are still 12 cents lower than the national average at $3.81 per gallon. AAA communications specialist Valerie Puma says the lower prices are only a current result of lower temperatures.
VALERIE PUMA, AAA COMMUNICATIONS SPECIALIST: Now is around the time that each year refineries will switch to the more expensive summer blend of fuel, which, it has pricier additives to help prevent evaporation during the hot summer months.
SPENCER: Increased gas prices reflect the rising crude oil prices around the world.
PUMA: We have not seen numbers this high since the spring of 2022 when the Russia-Ukraine conflict began, and we saw some record breaking numbers that summer
SPENCER: The White House will be releasing 172 million barrels of oil from its strategic reserves over the next four months to help counter the surging prices. In Syracuse Spencer Buley. NCC News.