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Louisiana gas prices have climbed to $2.83 per gallon for regular gasoline, up from $2.74 last week, according to AAA. Spokesperson Don Redman says the nearly 10-cent increase is driven by rising crude oil prices and uncertainty fueled by the ongoing conflict between Israel and Iran.
“As the U.S. starts sending more ships and more armament over in that area, it’s got the global market really nervous about the potential expansion of this war.
Redman says crude oil prices are around 75 dollars a barrel, and oil accounts for 50 to 60-percent of gas prices. So, when crude oil prices increase, Redman says you can expect to feel it at the pump.
“And I wouldn’t expect them to come down soon. Especially, when there’s talk of ‘we’ll see what happens in two weeks.’ So, that right there will have the market nervous for the next couple of weeks. I would expect these high prices to remain through the summer.”
Redman says when you combine the conflict in the Middle East with Louisiana heading into what is expected to be an above-average hurricane season, you won’t feel relief at the pump for a while.
“If this conflict continues into the summer and we have a named storm entering the Gulf, it’s very possible you could see the price of crude climbing even higher.”
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