Gas prices predicted to rise, blame goes to good economic conditions

Come spring, AAA is predicting gas at $2.70 a gallon.

The price is quite a bit higher than last year or what the U.S. has been used to since just after the great recession.

“We are seeing economic improvement, which means more people on the road driving,” Wisconsin AAA’s Nick Jarmusz said, “either to work or enjoying leisure trips that they are paying for because they have a job and have the disposable income to do that.”

And that simply means demand is high.

“That’s pushing prices up,” Jarmusz said. “What’s keeping them from going too much further up is the fact that we’re also seeing increased production. So, even though the demand is up, supply is up as well.”

Jarmusz doesn’t think the after effects of Hurricane Harvey on the refinery industry have much of an impact on the upper Midwest.

“Most of the gas that we burn comes from Canada and comes down the pipelines (to) refineries around the Great Lakes,” he said.

Wisconsin state average is $2.46. As usual, higher in the north and west, lower in the south and east. Pump price for regular in La Crosse is $2.54.