64.0°,
Overcast Ouch! at the pump
Local gas prices climb higher than the national average
The average retail gas price on Long Island has risen more than 4 percent since last week, and was 47 cents more per gallon on the East Coast on Monday than one year ago, according to petroleum analysts at GasBuddy. And prices are expected to keep going up.
“As we continue to move toward warmer weather, gasoline prices will follow, with prices accelerating higher at a faster pace come late March into April,” said Patrick DeHaan, senior petroleum analyst at GasBuddy. “So if motorists think this is bad, they should really hold on to their chairs.”
Many residents — even those who both live and work in East Meadow — agree that prices are too high, and expect them to continue to increase. “It’s totally out of control,” said Millie Jones, president of the East Meadow Chamber of Commerce. “All I can say is, yuck.” Jones added, however, that she and her husband work close to home and don’t feel the impact as much as those with longer commutes.
“It’s terrible,” said Sal Pellegrino, president of the East Meadow Veterans of Foreign Wars chapter, “and I don’t know how far it’s going to go. I just hope things get better.”
“From my business point of view, I’m trying to drive less,” said resident Susan Weiss, who delivers Avon products to customers’ homes. She said that while filling three cars with gas does get expensive, she has not made any changes in her routine to curb spending. “I don’t think the price of gas is stopping us from going anywhere or doing anything yet,” she said.
“I don’t know much about how the gas system works,” said Brian Kjellgren, also of East Meadow, “but I do know that the prices are killing people all over.”
“The single biggest factor in the price of gasoline is the cost of crude oil from which it is made,” states the website of the U.S. Energy Information Administration, and amid speculation that Iran may disrupt the oil supply in the Middle East and Europe — which would have an effect on supplies in the U.S. — the cost continues to creep closer to $4 per gallon in the East Meadow area. Iran’s Oil Ministry halted crude oil shipments to Britain and France last Sunday.
As of Tuesday, the average price of gas on Long Island was $3.91 per gallon, compared with the national average of $3.53.
