As oil prices soar above $110 a barrel, drivers in Connecticut are noticing the subsequent jump in gas prices and it is hitting their wallets.
“You rob Peter and pay Paul. So you buy gas and you buy less food or wait to pay your cable TV bill. Just shuffle the money around,” said Mary Good, a driver who was getting gas from Avon.
Chris Herb, the president of the Connecticut Energy Marketers Association, said the good news is there is not a supply issue when it comes to gas at the pump or home heating oil. So, there’s no need to panic.
He said the reason people are paying more is because of concerns on Wall Street.
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“What is driving prices right now is Wall Street fear that a supply interruption may happen in the future due to the Ukrainian conflict? So that's what this really is. This is Wall Street traders perceiving that something may occur that affects supply, which is not the case today,” said Herb.
Herb said that after the Biden administration recently made policy changes, like delaying oil drilling on federal land and revoked the permit to build the Keystone XL Pipeline, the U.S. is more reliant on foreign oil. That means we’re not as shielded when these price run-ups happen.
So how long could the price hike last?
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“That is a crystal ball I do not have. But I can say in the short term I don't see any relief in sight,” said Herb.
That’s also troublesome for people who rely on home heating oil.
The owners of Ryan Oil Company in Hamden said the retail price on home heating oil went up 60 cents in the last 24 hours.
“[It] makes it hard for our customers because there may be a price change in the middle of the day, as we saw yesterday -- we had three of them,” said Paula Ryan, the owner and operator of Ryan Oil Company.
Sixty cents is a big jump when the average customer gets 150 gallons delivered at a time.
The owner of Ryan Oil said they’re doing their best to keep prices low for customers, even with all the uncertainty with the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
But Herb said there is a reason to be hopeful based on previous conflicts.
“Usually when there is a war, the prices spiked up and correct as long as that supply is interrupted and right now it is not interrupted,” said Herb.
