ST. LOUIS — Every day for about the last month, Missouri gas prices have either broken or tied records. Over the last 10 days, Illinois has either broken or tied the highest price, according to AAA.
Drivers 5 On Your Side spoke with said gas is way too expensive.
“Ouch, that hurt. To fill up it used to cost me about $35 now it’s $62,” driver Eugene Williams said.
Williams said he has a fixed income and doesn’t really have the budget for sky-high gas prices.
In Missouri, AAA said the average is $4.45 per gallon and in Illinois, it's $5.40.
“It seems like every other week they’re going up at the few cents at a time and they never did come down,” Williams said.
He said if it gets worse he might have to rethink driving.
“I’d have to pull out the old bike and start riding,” Williams said.
Nick Chabarria with AAA said the most recent surge in prices comes on the heels of an announcement from the European Union cutting imports of Russian oil by 90% by the end of the year.
“We’ve seen a lot of supply constraints in the oil and gas industry most recently since the Russian invasion of Ukraine and this just further adds to it and of course drives up the cost of crude oil which in turn results in higher prices at the pump,” Chabarria said.
Despite the punch in the pocketbook, Chabarria said it’s not slowing down travel at all. Memorial Day weekend was the first good idea of what summer travel conditions might look like.
“AAA was forecasting that we would see an increase in travel from last year, about a 10% increase or so, and that would put us right where we were in 2019 prior to the pandemic,” Chabarria said.
But another driver, Chris, said he can’t even fill up his entire tank anymore.
“I put in there what I think I need and I go from there,” Chris said.
He said working from home is looking better every day.
“If you can get employment or do anything where you don’t have to drive as much it’s a plus because gas is ridiculous,” Chris said.
AAA said it may not get any better until the demand for gas goes down. They recommend good driving habits to help you save gas; for example, using cruise control on the highway and good tire pressure.