ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — They're going up again.
Gas prices at several Tampa Bay-area stations are rising to about $4.75 per gallon, according to gas price tracker GasBuddy.com. That's not the price at every pump, at least as of this writing, so there may be time to look around for the best deal.
Tuesday's hike comes after the European Union agreed to ban the overwhelming majority of Russian oil imports. Its leaders agreed to cut about 90 percent of all Russian oil imports over the next six months.
That move, according to GasBuddy senior petroleum analyst Patrick De Haan, prompted oil prices to climb higher. "Soon perhaps" a national average of $5 per gallon is possible, he tweeted.
Despite these new sky-high prices, AAA forecast about 35 million travelers hopped in the car for the Memorial Day weekend — the highest level since 2019.
"So far, the pent-up urge to travel caused by the pandemic outweighs high pump prices for many consumers," AAA spokesperson Andrew Gross said in a statement. "But 67% of drivers recently surveyed told us they would change their driving habits if gas hit $4.50 a gallon. That number rises to 75% at $5 a gallon. If pump prices keep rising, will people alter their summer travel plans? That remains to be seen."
AAA says the national average of $4.62 per gallon in 2021 far surpasses the past several years. And it's much higher than the about $2 average at this time in 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic caused travel demand to plummet.