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A few weeks ago, Cody Walk was able to gas up his 1999 Ford F-150 pickup truck for about $40. Last week, it cost the 18-year-old Galloway Township driver more than $50 to fill up his gas tank.

"Forty or forty-five dollars for my truck, that's not bad," Walk said. "Fifty dollars - that's bad."

Walk is among the many southern New Jersey drivers unhappy about what they have been paying at the pump lately. Gas prices have risen 17 days in a row, hitting a national average of $2.695 per gallon Friday, according to auto club AAA and Oil Price Information Services. While the current prices pale in comparison with 2008, when prices topped $4 per gallon, memories of that experience have consumers balking at having to spend more on gas at a time when household budgets are already stretched thin due to the economy.

Average gas prices in New Jersey jumped from $2.37 at the end of September to $2.52 as of Oct. 27, according to data provided by AAA Mid-Atlantic. The typical autumn trend for the region is for gas prices to fall as summer travel abates, which is what had been happening until the end of September, said David Weinstein, spokesman for AAA Mid-Atlantic.

But the weak U.S. dollar, which has fallen 18 percent against the euro since March, changed that. Now, foreign investors are able to purchase crude oil, currently selling for about $80 per barrel, for less money.

"Oil is a good hedge for investors, particularly in this uncertain economy," Weinstein said. "When the economy gets into full swing, more petroleum products, like diesel fuel, will be needed to fuel that recovery. When that happens, oil prices will increase again, and today's investors will sell their oil futures for a profit."

Meanwhile, local drivers continue to pay a price.

Walk was a new driver in 2008. His warm welcome into the world of car key-holders was getting to spend $80 each time he had to fill his 20-gallon tank.

"It would cost me $5 just to get to school," Walk said. "Just to go around the corner."

Walk admits that $50 is a far cry from $80, but this latest price increase is having a noticeable effect on his wallet.

"I don't have the extra spending cash to put towards gas," said Walk, adding that he now has to put the brakes on the long recreational drives that he enjoys.

People make a "clear emotional connection" between the price of gas and how much they spend on other things, said Wendy Liebmann, who monitors shopping habits through her company, WSL Strategic Retail.

"It nibbles out of our paycheck, and there's nothing we can do about it," Liebmann said. "We've got to get the kids to school. We've got to get to work if we're lucky enough to have a job."

As gas prices soared from 2006 to 2008, people became increasingly tight-fisted, a survey by WSL found. When gas peaked above $4 per gallon in July 2008, more than two-thirds said they had cut back on other spending so they could still use their cars, she said.

Sue Leeds, owner of a Sunoco gas station on Jimmie Leeds Road in Galloway Township, finds herself peppered with questions each day at the pump as prices rise. Drivers think she has the answers, but Leeds said she does not find out about price changes until midnight each day.

"In my opinion, I think it's unfair," said Leeds. "I think enough is enough."

Unfair or not, prices are not keeping drivers from filling up. A line of cars filed into the Sunoco station Friday evening as drivers heading home from work stopped to fill up for the weekend, keeping Leeds hopping from pump to pump to hook up hoses and run credit cards.

"People aren't happy about it," she said. "But they still have to go to work. They still have to drive."

According to Weinstein, analysts at AAA believe that gas prices have reached their high point for the year. But he added that it is hard to tell for certain.

"There's no real data to support increased prices," Weinstein said. "But what we've seen in the last few weeks to a month is that sometimes, the market isn't based on reality."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Contact Courtney McCann:

609-272-7219

CMcCann@pressofac.com

2 comments:

• UncleFrank (232) posts 5:31 pm

  Imported oil costs more because the value of the dollar continues to decline. Drill here, drill now to put a stop to this madness!

• Deedle (22) posts 6:05 pm

  Remember this the next time gas prices are low and the state starts talking about RAISING gas TAXES. I don't care what they say they need the money for, DON'T LET THEM RAISE GAS TAXES!.......EVER!!!! Taxes never go down, not even those so called "temporary" taxes.

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