Gas prices due to hurricane season

Gas prices have began to decrease after the spike in price following Hurricanes Harvey and Irma. With more hurricanes on the way, drivers are nervous that the decrease will turn into an increase. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, Hurricanes Harvey and Irma lead to higher gasoline prices.

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Rena Gerber, a Behrend Interdisciplinary Business with Engineering Studies and dual major Supply Chain Management student, thinks that the gas prices are still too high. “I think that the prices are too high right now, but I have seen a drop in them recently,” she said. “I just hope they fall quick because it’s taking a lot of money to get to and from classes now.”

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According to gasbuddy.com, the average retail gasoline prices in Erie have fallen 4.8 cents from last week, but prices are still higher than last month by 18.6 cents. Today, the average price in the area is 2.807 per gallon, close to the highest average this year for Erie at 2.894 per gallon.

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Gas prices spiked when Hurricane Irma disrupted the gasoline markets in Florida, causing increased demand. The evacuation of people in anticipation of Hurricane led to higher demand of transportation fuels. Florida is almost entirely supplied by marine movements of petroleum products from domestic and international sources, and there are no petroleum refineries located there.

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Brandon Christopher Moten, a Behrend International Business/Communications student, is happy about the decreasing prices. “My wallet can’t wait for the prices to go down, no more filling up at half a tank,” he said. “Getting gas doesn’t make me cry anymore.”

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Prior to Hurricane Harvey, Florida's average gas prices were about 15 cents per gallon lower than the U.S. average. As the hurricane approached, shipping traffic was diverted and ports closed in the area. This stopped the flow of petroleum products to the state.

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According to the EIA, when Harvey hit landfall in Texas, gas prices in Florida increased 10 cents per gallon.

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Florida is supplied by terminals in Port Everglades, Port of Tampa, Port Canaveral and Port of Jacksonville. The ports near Tampa, Jacksonville, and the Everglades reopened as of September 13, 2017.

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GasBuddy senior petroleum analyst Patrick Dehaan helped with common questions that people have on the gas prices recently due to hurricanes. “Many motorists have asked why all gas prices haven’t come back down to pre-Harvey levels, and while the answer is complex, in short, it will take weeks or months to see gasoline inventories recover fully,” Dehaan said. “But prices will continue to slowly drift lower as inventories slowly improve.”

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The recent hurricanes as of now are not expected to enter the Gulf of Mexico, where the supply and production would be disrupted. This makes analysts believe that the gas prices will not be affected from this wave of hurricanes. The gasoline production is beginning to recover and as that recovery happens, prices are expected to continue to drop.