MEMPHIS, TN (abc24.com)- $4 -- it's the dollar amount you don't want to hear when it comes to gas prices. Experts have been throwing that number around lately.
So is it all hype? And what's driving prices anyway? The beef Iran has with us and Israel is making things tense in the Middle East and when things are tense there you can expect gas prices to go up. Even during winter when gas prices normally are at their low point.
Dr. John Gnuschke with the University of Memphis Sparks Bureau of Economic Research said, “I just came from the gas station, I needed a bank loan.”
If you haven't noticed, gas prices are on the rise yet again. A month ago we were paying $3.25 for regular unleaded. Now Mid-Southerners are shelling out nearly $3.50.
“It's terrible you have to sometimes choose between gas and going out to eat,” Judy Kovach said. She needs a dose of Tylenol for all the pain at the pump.
“When I bought that truck two years ago it cost me maybe $30, $40 to fill it up, now it's $100,” Kovach said.
It's enough to make anyone trade in four wheels and an engine for two wheels and pedals.
According to Shell Oil's former CEO, regular unleaded could reach $5 a gallon by summer. Dr. Gnuschke doesn't agree.
“I think there's every reason to believe gas prices are going to be up, but they're not going to be up to $5. Here we could see $4,” Gnuschke said.
Experts say the prices may eventually go down a bit but for the most part they're here to stay.
