BILLINGS — They’re numbers nobody likes to see: gas prices on the rise. Wednesday’s national average of $3.67 a gallon is up 32 cents from February, and experts warn it's going to get worse over the next couple of weeks.
"It seems like it’s gone up just since I got gas in my wife’s car the other day," said Billings resident Chris Devault, while filling up his 36-gallon tank in his 4x4 pickup truck Wednesday. "Nowadays, $100 won’t do it."
He stopped at $101 Wednesday before the tank was full.
Al Hayes’ car is much smaller, but the $4/gallon of premium grade hurts.
"Oh yeah, I’m very aware of it," Hayes said of the rising prices. "I’ll probably drive less and ride a bike more."
That’s a smart call in the short term - the CEO of gas price tracker GasBuddy tweeted Tuesday he expects the national average to get above $4/gallon by April.
Welp, we're gonna be banging on the door of $4/gal by April it does appear.
— Patrick De Haan ⛽️📊 (@GasBuddyGuy) March 1, 2022
In Tuesday night's State of the Union address, President Joe Biden said the U.S. and allies will release 60 million barrels of oil from its reserves to stem the tide. Hayes thinks more can be done.
"Foreign countries including Saudi Arabia can pitch in and send more oil to the rest of the world," he said, "and you’d think they would since most of the world is against Russia now.”
"It’s disappointing," Devault added. "You hope it’s short term”
Especially with the typically more expensive summer season around the corner.
