Gasoline could go up to 7 dollars in some US states

This year the price of regular gasoline in the United States will rise in some states to $7 a gallon, due in part to refinery outages and amid renewed energy demand from China as the Asian nation reopens its economy. , according to GasBuddy.

“This year is not going to be a piece of cake for motorists. It could be expensive,” Patrick De Haan, the firm’s head of Petroleum Analysis, which tracks fuel costs, said in its 2023 fuel outlook.

The national average price of gasoline at gas stations could exceed $4 a gallon in most major US cities as of May, De Haan said, up from $3.18 on Friday. Cities in the west coast state of California, such as San Francisco and Los Angeles, could see gasoline prices approach nearly $7 a gallon in the summer, according to GasBuddy.

Gasoline costs in the United States have receded from highs reached in June, when the national average topped $5 a gallon as world oil prices rose amid disruptions created by Russia’s war with Ukraine and a crisis. energy in Europe.

The drop came after President Joe Biden began releasing record amounts of crude from US reserves to rein in energy costs and inflation.

According to De Haan, a rebound in gasoline prices is already beginning in part due to extremely cold weather conditions plaguing the United States, wreaking havoc at refineries and slowing gasoline and diesel production.

“The reopening of China is a wild card to watch in the coming days/weeks,” De Haan warned in a tweet. “It is possible that the window is closing on those ultra-low prices that we have seen in recent weeks. As China reopened, oil prices recovered,” he said in an interview on CNBC Friday.

Overall, though, GasBuddy noted that drivers are estimated to spend 10% less on gas next year compared to 2022, given that the average household is likely to spend $277 less on gas.

termometro.economico@eleconomista.mx