(WXYZ) — Gas prices are continuing to climb in metro Detroit and in Michigan with no end in sight. AAA is calling it a possible calm before the storm as summer travel season begins.
Overnight, prices in the area broke another record, with the average price of gas spiking to $4.80 per gallon in metro Detroit. That's a 7 cent jump from yesterday and a 20-cent jump from last week.
Statewide, the average price is $4.70, up 9 cents from yesterday and nearly a 66-cent jump compared to a month ago.
The increase in prices is making everyday drivers change the way they drive.
"It's really ridiculous. You go home. Go to sleep. You wake up. Gas prices are basically 20 to 30 cents higher than the day before. I mean at this point what are we going to do in the summertime?" one driver said.
Another person said all she can do is wake up, go to work, go to school and run errands. She said something needs to happen.
"What about going to visit family? You can't even do that anymore so. If it rises up to six dollars? I don't know what we will do. Going to be face-timing family members," she said.
Here are some of the major reasons for the prices rising:
- Prices for crude oil are hitting their highest levels in nearly 3 months – $122.84 a barrel
- The European Union announced it reached a deal to ban 90% of Russian oil by the end of the year
- Summer travel in the U.S. is all about supply and demand
"Prices now up $1.55 a gallon from a year ago and it may get worse before it gets better," Patrick De Haan, the vice president of medial relations and communications for GasBuddy, said. "The average commute may be 12-and-a-half miles and the average car gets 25 miles a gallon combined. You know, you're going to pay $4.60 every day on your way to and from work and that's certainly going to add up over the course of a week."
While the EU searches for a new source of oil, experts predict it will only cause gas prices in the U.S. to go higher.
