Aug 28, 2008 5:57 pm US/Eastern
Gustav Expected To Drive Gas Prices Back Up
BALTIMORE (WJZ) ―
With a major hurricane expected to develop in the Gulf of Mexico, look for prices at the pump to start climbing again.
Alex DeMetrick reports the price of crude oil is already up, and experts say gasoline won't be far behind.
Gustav's wake is bad enough, but as the storm moves out of the Caribbean headed for the gulf, it is taking a track very similar to Hurricane Katrina. Forecasters say it will strengthen.
"We saw what happened with Hurricane Katrina. Before it hit, Marylanders were paying $2.92 a gallon. Overnight it jumped 34 cents to $3.26 a gallon," said Christine Delise, AAA Mid-Atlantic.
AAA is not expecting that kind of hike. It's projecting gas will go 10 cents a gallon higher with Gustav, just as it had finally gone lower.
Traders are already pushing the price of crude oil up as Gustav moves toward the off-shore rigs and Gulf Coast refineries that tie directly into what we pay at the pump.
After Katrina, those first big prices rolled up on the pump. Since then, we've all lived with bigger numbers.
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