DALLAS (AP) – The spike in gasoline prices in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey has hit the accelerator.
The national average for regular was $2.54 a gallon by Friday afternoon, an increase of 18 cents in the last week, according to GasBuddy.
Prices jumped at least 10 cents a gallon in 24 hours in Texas, Ohio, Georgia and the Mid-Atlantic states, travel club AAA reported Friday.
The nationwide average was already higher than most experts predicted as a worst-case scenario when flooding from the devastating storm began knocking out refineries along the Texas Gulf Coast a week ago.
Two of the leading price-forecasting analysts, GasBuddy’s Patrick DeHaan and Tom Kloza of the Oil Price Information Service, now see the national average peaking as high as $2.75 a gallon in the next few days.
