How long will gas prices keep rising in NJ?

🚗 Gas prices stabilized in New Jersey over the weekend

⬆ Many predict high demand will keep prices high, for now

💲 China is a main reason we keep seeing prices rise

After rising daily for weeks, gas prices took a pause over the weekend in New Jersey.

According to AAA, the average price for a gallon of regular gasoline held at $3.45.

That is still eight-cents a gallon higher than a week ago, and 17-cents a gallon more than a month ago.

Last year at this time, we were paying about $3.47 a gallon.

While we have been enjoying a mild and relatively snowless winter in New Jersey, portions of the U.S. has some nasty storms to close out 2022. AAA says that contributed to a tighter supply, but other areas experiencing a mild winter "may have led to more drivers getting behind the wheel, pushing pump prices higher."

Analyst Patrick De Haan of GasBuddy.com says there has been some encouraging news. "With some recent dips in wholesale gas prices," De Hann says, "We may see the rise slow in coming days."

China is getting some of the blame for a recent rise in oil prices, which have also pushed costs of gas higher.

"The cost of oil has been bolstered amid ongoing market optimism that global oil demand will be more robust than anticipated in 2023," a AAA analyst claims, "This is due to China re-opening its economy after imposing strict COVID-19 lockdowns that curtailed demand for oil."

New Jersey remains slightly below the national average of $3.50 per gallon for regular.

Some states have seen even bigger jumps at the pump.

Michigan, Colorado and Delaware have seen prices rise by as much as 25-cents per gallon in a week. Florida has seen gasoline increase by 18-cents a gallon.

Eric Scott is the senior political director and anchor for New Jersey 101.5. You can reach him at eric.scott@townsquaremedia.com

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