Fueling a jump at the pumps

Gas prices are set to soar as a result of Tropical Storm Harvey, which shut down at least 10 refineries in Texas.

A hike of 15 to 35 cents per gallon will likely hit the Gulf Coast region, while the national average could rise 5 to 15 cents, said Patrick DeHaan, senior petroleum analyst for GasBuddy, a gas-price-tracking app.

“The market [cost] is up big today. That will start trickling down to the pumps as soon as tomorrow.”

Still, DeHaan predicted prices wouldn’t increase as dramatically on the East and West coasts or in the Rockies. The Midwest could see 10- to 25cent increases, he said.

Gasoline futures — a strong indicator of where US fuel prices are headed — rose 5 percent early Monday to their highest level since July 2015.

The national average gas price Monday was $2.36 per gallon, up 3.4 cents from last week, according to GasBuddy.

“This is not unprecedented,” DeHaan said, noting 40- to 50-cent increases in gas after Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

But, he said, “we’re in the tail end of the summer, and the market was pretty well supplied with gasoline ahead of this.”

DeHaan said it could take “several weeks at best, maybe closer to a month” for gas prices to return to normal.

In the past, gas prices have risen 20 to 80 cents after big storms, including Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, Ike and Isaac, but “rapidly” returned to normal within two to four weeks, says analyst PIRA Energy.