How gas prices might impact drivers very soon

As crude oil rises in price per barrel, Americans are beginning to see higher gas prices.

And the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) has now raised its forecasts for oil prices in the rest of 2024 and for 2025.

Related: Get ready for $5-a-gallon gasoline

In the first quarter of 2024, the average West Texas Intermediate (WTI) spot price was $77.50 per barrel.

The EIA now estimates the commodity will average $85.30 in the second quarter and $86.84 per barrel in the third quarter before lowering to $85.17 during the fourth quarter of 2024.

These increasing prices for crude oil will likely continue to help drive up the cost for American drivers when filling their gas tanks.

And those rising costs tend to affect people's behavior from a personal finance and spending perspective in a number of ways.

Commuters tend to find ways to take buses, subways and trains to and from work. They also increase the frequency with which they use carpools.

Because these rising gas prices are coming just in time for summer, travel plans for Americans can be impacted as well.

Summer travel could be impacted by the rising price of gas

Travelers, for example, will see a larger percentage of their vacation budgets dedicated to transportation costs, leaving less money available for hotels, dining and other activities.

Some people will opt then, for traveling shorter distances on roads in cars and trucks to destinations closer to home.

Higher oil prices also affect air travel costs as airlines cope with higher prices for jet fuel by increasing the cost of tickets.

Travelers often respond to these realities by delaying vacations until prices come down. So many people might postpone travel until later in the year.

Of course, electric vehicle drivers will feel less of an impact from rising gas prices, although some of them hesitate to drive long distances anyway because of continued anxiety about finding and using charging stations.

As for cars with the best fuel economy, Car and Driver specifically mentions the 2024 Toyota Prius  (TM) .

The car "debunks previous Priuses' nerdy stereotype, makes good power now, highly efficient," the publication wrote.

"The Prius used to sacrifice good looks and performance to the god of fuel efficiency, but those days are long gone," it added.

Average prices of gas in the US by state

According to AAA's Daily Fuel Gauge report, the average price of regular gas in the U.S. on April 16 was $3.64 per gallon.

The average price Americans paid one month ago for a gallon of regular gas was $3.46. One year ago, the average price across the U.S. was $3.67.

By state, California had the most expensive price for gas in the nation at $5.46 per gallon, while Minnesota's was lowest at $3.31.

Drivers in the western states generally paid the highest prices for gas. Besides California, gas consumers in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, Hawaii and Alaska all paid $3.91 per gallon or higher.

Paying the lowest amounts for gas prices in the U.S. — at less that $3.40 per gallon — were drivers in Wyoming, South Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, Kentucky, North Carolina, New Jersey, Massachusetts and New Hampshire.

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