Energy

Gas Price Rockets Ahead of Christmas, With Illinois, Florida and Indiana Up Over 20 Cents

Douglas A. McIntyre

Published: December 20, 2016 8:30 pm

Last Updated: January 12, 2020 4:34 pm

Is it the demand for gas as people drive for the holidays, or the soaring price of oil? Whether one or both, the cost per gallon of regular has popped, according to GasBuddy. Prices in Illinois, Florida, and Indiana are up over 20 cents in the last month, which is a large increase on the base of $2.25

Whether the sharp price of the increase will begin to affect the economy is hard to say, although the theory that gas prices hurt the buying power of lower and middle class households is regularly raised during gas run up periods

Gasbuddy noted:

As millions of Americans take to the road to celebrate the holidays, many are being forced to dig deeper in their wallets. Nationally, gas prices have seen their largest December rise in six years and are likely to continue rising through the holidays as oil producing countries agreed to cut production, boosting oil and gasoline prices.

“When The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries announced production cuts November 30, we knew we were likely to see gasoline prices rise almost immediately. There’s never a good time to see gas prices rise, but ahead of the holidays just seems like the worst,” said Patrick DeHaan, senior petroleum analyst at GasBuddy. “Oil prices spiked after OPEC’s production cut agreement was announced, pushing gasoline prices higher in 41 states. At a time of year Americans are busy opening their wallets to shop for gifts, they’ll have to dig deeper to fill their tanks, too

The phenomenon is widespread:

In a sign of how far reaching the rising prices have been, today finds 86% of gas stations nationwide priced over $2 per gallon compared to 61% a month ago. In 2014, gasoline prices plunged in December, ending over 50 cents a gallon lower than when the month started. Since 2011, gas prices have increased during December just once, in 2013, when the national average rose a nickel. The 5-year average for the month is a decline of 12 cents.

The cities and states with largest increases in last 30 days

States  Illinois: 22 cents  Florida: 22 cents , Indiana: 21 cents,   Michigan: 19 cents, Oklahoma: 19 cents, Ohio: 19 cents,  Wisconsin: 19 cents,

Cities: Champaign, IL: 31 cents   Orlando, FL: 30 cents , Tampa, FL: 27 cents , Parkersburg, WV: 36 cents. Steubenville, OH: 32 cents, Ashland, KY: 34

If high gas prices persist throughout the next year, consumer spending may be constrained for the holidays next year