Gas prices spiked in the Rochester region over the past week as the demand for gasoline hit record highs for April.
AAA of Western and Central New York pegs a gallon of gas in the Rochester region at $2.85 a gallon, a nine cent spike from last week. The large demand is one reason for the spike.
“Prices are likely to increase a bit more as demand increases,” said Lindsey Kensey, communications specialist with AAA. “This demand from last week is the highest on record for the month of April, and exceeds summer demand from years past.”
Record demand with shrinking gas inventories are the recipe for the price spike. OPEC’s agreement with non-OPEC countries to reduce crude production have limited gas inventories, and if OPEC’s decides to cut the agreement in June, it could bring some relief at the pump. But gas prices hitting the $3 a gallon mark is not out of the question.
“While we get closer and closer to the three dollar mark, we’re hoping that prices stay a little under three dollars, but it’s not completely out of the question that we’ll see three dollars a gallon this summer in Western New York,” Kensey said. “Prices usually peak in May, so we’ll see what happens.”