Surging Gas Prices: How Long Will The Pain At The Pump Last?

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Gas prices are on the verge of reaching an all-time high in the Charlotte area.

Regular is up 34 cents in the past week, the biggest increase since Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

“It’s insane. I just can’t believe it,” says Huntersville resident Roger Garcia.

We caught up with him filling his tank at an Exxon station on Rea Road, where the price has climbed to $4.19 a gallon.

“It used to be 40 bucks (to fill my tank), now I’m (at) $76, it’s crazy,” he says.

Experts say sanctions on Russia, following its invasion of Ukraine are driving up prices quickly.

“It has been absolutely staggering to watch the pace of increases,” says Gas Buddy analyst Patrick De Haan, speaking on Facebook Live.

De Haan says Russia produces about 10 percent of all the oil consumed around the world each day.

“And suddenly, with the loss of Russian oil, the balance has been significantly tipped in a way that we have never seen before,” he says.

De Haan says gas prices could reach an average of $4.50 nationally by the end of the week.

Then they’re expected to stabilize, unless there’s an escalation in Ukraine.

High prices at the pump are pushing some to consider electric vehicles.

“Well obviously you don’t have to buy gasoline, so you charge it,” explains Tom Chester, with Tindol Ford and Tindol Subaru in Gastonia.

He showed us a Mustang Mach-E.

“Most of our Ford cars will go 200 to 300 miles, so no gasoline expense,” Chester says.

He says Ford is ramping up production, and the electric vehicles usually sell as quickly as he can get them on the lot.