To say gas prices have been unpredictable this year would be an understatement.On Thursday morning, drivers across the U.S.were spending an average of $3.85 per gallon of regular unleaded, according to AAA.The average cost of a gallon this year peaked in May at $4.56, and plunged as low as $2.79 in January, the organization reported.Oil prices have spiked around the world in recent months after the U.S.
and Israel launched a war on Iran, which has disrupted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.But the on-and-off hostilities have done more than simply raise gas prices in a straight line — they've caused gas to become more expensive one week, only for the price to fall the next.
Prices go up when fighting rekindles or the strait is closed, and drop when peace talks resume.They're climbing again after Trump said the tenuous ceasefire was over.Now, drivers are unsure of what price they'll find when they pull into a gas station, said Emily Blain, an accredited financial counselor in Minnesota."'How bad is it going to be this time? Is it going to be not as bad as I think, or is it going to be worse than I think?'" Blain said.
That can contribute to stress, she added, "and since many people are going to the gas pump fairly often, that absolutely adds up."When it comes to price, gas is one of the more volatile consumer goods.U.S.
motor fuel prices jumped as much as 35.8% annually over the last two decades and fell by as much as 27.8% in the same period, according to the USDA's Economic Research Service.Loading...That unpredictability can influence consumers' buying habits — and it's been doing so in recent months.Data from the cash back app Upside found that when gas prices rose in the first two and a half weeks of March, drivers visited gas stations more often but bought less fuel each time."Some drivers can't afford to fill up their tank at a given time, so there's definitely some cash constraints," said Upside principal research economist Thomas Weinandy.Other ...