WEST HARTFORD, Conn. — Filling up your tank is starting to hurt your wallet a little more, with gas prices that are continually going up.
"I think they’re disrespectful, they’re just incredibly high. And for the last two weeks they’ve just been going up," said Barry Richardson of New Britain.
According to AAA, the national average hit the highest it's been all year with $3.80 per gallon on Wednesday, up nearly 30 cents from a month ago.
Connecticut is just about at the current national average of $3.79.
"At this point, I just want to hop on the public transit, but not everybody has the time to hop on a public transit," said Jenascia Weir of Hartford.
Experts said there are a few reasons behind the surge in prices.
According to GasBuddy, one factor is the extreme heat, that caused refinery outages in the U.S.
Another factor is supply cuts.
"OPEC which is the main supplier of oil. This is the group of countries, like Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, Angola, and so on, actually announced cuts in their production this summer, on top of cuts that they had already announced earlier in 2023," said Patrick Gourley, an associate professor of economics at the University of New Haven.
Though experts said it’s not uncommon to see higher prices this time of year.
"Every summer gas prices do increase and it’s kind of obvious why right, people are going on vacations, they’re traveling a lot more, the demand for gas is higher," Gourley said.
Still, people are feeling the pinch and second-guessing some of that travel.
"I’m definitely double thinking whether I’m going to take some of those road trips and you know do I need to use the car as much?" said Alfred Croteau of West Hartford.
With gas prices creeping closer to four dollars a gallon, the pain at the pump is felt even further.
"Our discretionary spending goes down so you know I’m not likely going to go out to dinner quite as much and I’m going to make other choices on how I spend money cause I need to be able to get to work," Croteau said.
The fall could bring lower gas prices, but experts said it is tough to know for sure.
"You should expect that gas prices will be lower in October than they are in August, will that happen 100% of the time? Absolutely not," Gourley said.
Gaby Molina is a reporter and anchor at FOX61 News. She can be reached at mmolina@fox61.com. Follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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