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Minwoo Kim grimaced when he looked up at the gas price board Tuesday just before filling his car at a RaceTrac station near Dallas’ medical district.
The board read $4.09 a gallon for regular gas.
Kim, 26, drove into the station near Maple Avenue and Inwood Road after class at UT Southwestern looking to spend his usual $20 a week on fuel. Typically, he said that’s enough to get a near empty tank of his red 2017 Volkswagen Jetta to close to three-quarters full.
But with the rise in gas prices, it was closer to about half a tank on Tuesday. He said he’s on a fixed stipend, which has caused him to cut back on driving in recent days and reconsider road trips to see friends in San Antonio and Houston.
“When gas prices all of a sudden go up like this, it hurts,” said Kim, a graduate student. “We just have to wait it out and hope other costs don’t go up with it.
Increased demand for crude oil and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine have caused gasoline prices nationwide to spike. Russia is one of the largest global oil producers, and the attack on Ukraine has led to bans on Russian oil imports, including in the U.S. where President Joe Biden announced such a ban on Tuesday.
The average U.S. price of regular gasoline hit a record high of $4.17 a gallon Tuesday, according to AAA. The average was $4.06 a gallon on Monday, $3.61 a gallon last Tuesday and $3.45 a gallon one month ago.
The statewide average price Tuesday was $3.85 a gallon, 13 cents more than the day before, 57 cents more than a week ago and 72 cents more than in February. Nationally, Texas ranked 11th in states with the lowest average gas prices.
Daniel Armbruster, a spokesman for AAA Texas and New Mexico, said before the end of the month prices in the Lone Star state could likely eclipse the record average of $3.98 set in July 2008.
“Honestly, if we continue on the same trajectory, we could possibly surpass it by the end of the week,” Armbruster said. “It’s unclear at this point when we’ll see price averages fall.”
Hunter Crites while fueling up his car at an Exxon near Uptown on Tuesday said he has adjusted by staying home more as gas prices tick up.
“Just kind of budgeting and like picking and choosing what I go do because of how much more expensive it is.”
According to AAA, Dallas ranks seventh in Texas metro average prices as of Tuesday. The $3.88 a gallon average is more than the Fort Worth-Arlington area, Houston, San Antonio and Austin area.
El Paso, which has a state high average of $4.03 a gallon, Longview and Texarkana are among those with higher prices.
Most gas stations around Dallas were $3.89 a gallon or more, according to fuel price tracking app GasBuddy on Tuesday afternoon.
The sharp gas price increases came as a surprise to Alice Parsons when she stopped at a Shell station in Bishop Arts on her way to physical therapy. She said she typically doesn’t take notice of fuel costs, but the $3.99 a gallon at the pump near West Davis and Cedar Hall Avenue grabbed her attention.
“This was the closest gas station to my appointment, so I had to stop,” said Parsons, 75, after paying $15 for a little more than three gallons for her 2019 Ford Escape. “I’ll go to Costco next time.”
Prices hit $4.75 a gallon at a Shell in University Park where Aidan Foley was filling up. A Southern Methodist University student, Foley said she was concerned about the price tag for driving home to the Atlanta area, then to Florida and back to Texas in upcoming weeks.
The gas prices won’t cause her to change plans, but it has been affecting her spending elsewhere.
“So far, I’ve had to cut back on my grocery budget for the week in order to save money, so I can afford gas,” Foley said.
Alex Trevino has switched to using his wife’s car because putting gas in his truck is becoming too expensive. He was fueling up the car at a Chevron station on the northern edge of Dallas where the price was $3.84 a gallon.
“It’s hard on my pocket obviously, and it’s affecting how far I can go from my house,” he said. “And with work, it’s not like my salary goes up because of this.”