Getty/Justin Sullivan
- US gas prices have hit a five-month high, fuel-tracker GasBuddy said Thursday.
- Americans are paying an average of $3.54 a gallon to fill-up their vehicles, and $3.65 is in sight.
- Gas prices are rising following a jump in oil prices after OPEC+ said it will slash production starting in May.
Americans are seeing gas prices touch five-month highs in early April as OPEC and its allies prepare to cut oil production, and pump prices should continue to rise in the short run, according to GasBuddy.
The national average gas price has reached $3.54 a gallon, the highest since the Thanksgiving holiday, Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, said in a Thursday message on Twitter.
He noted a day earlier that prices would rise to $3.55 a gallon by this week, with more states seeing pricier fuel after OPEC+ surprised markets on Sunday by announcing production cuts of at least 1.2 million barrels a day starting in May. The move was widely seen as preemptive action before a potential recession sets in and to put a floor on oil prices.
Word of the production cuts by Saudi Arabia and other oil-producing countries sent oil prices soaring this week. Prices for Brent crude, the international benchmark, and West Texas Intermediate crude, the US benchmark, have surged by about 8% this week.
As for pump prices in the US, "increases will likely continue for the next couple of weeks with a climb to ~$3.65/gal likely for now," said De Haan.
"But it's not all bad news," he said on Wednesday, noting gas prices were about 65 cents a gallon lower than a year ago.
National gas prices soared past $5 a gallon in 2022, with that first-ever move taking place after oil producer Russia invaded Ukraine.
Brent oil on Thursday traded above $84 a barrel and WTI oil fetched more than $80 a barrel.