AAA sees summer gas prices on the rise
Summer driving season may be most expensive since 2014
Like the stock market in recent weeks, gasoline prices across the region have been up and down over the last several months. And while prices may have dipped a bit in the last few days, AAA is forecasting a rise in prices — just in time for the summer driving season.
AAA’s forecasters expect to see gas prices rise toward the end of February or the beginning of March, according to Jana L. Tidwell, manager of public and government affairs for AAA MidAtlantic.
“Motorists can expect to pay as much as 25 to 35 cents more per gallon,” she said. That would put the average price of gas across Pennsylvania above $3 a gallon.
One of the key drivers behind the projected increases in the northeast according to AAA is Hurricane Harvey, which struck the Gulf coast in August. Because of the hurricane, many refineries that supply the northeast postponed their fall maintenance until spring, which will limit spring production.
“Any time there is any effect to refining and production, we’ll see an uptick in gas prices,” Tidwell said.
If the projections hold true, AAA’s experts forecast that driv-
ers across Pennsylvania and the country will be paying the highest gas prices since 2014 — but not as high as Pennsylvania’s peak price for that year — $3.81.
AAA experts expect the second quarter to be the most expensive second quarter for gas since 2014, which will lead to the summer driving season — also expected to be the most expensive since 2014.
“We like to be able to give a realistic outlook. So many people plan their year in terms of vacation spending and disposable income, so being able to forecast what it might look like gives people a chance to look ahead,” Tidwell added.
AAA gas price projections are based on predictable market dynamics barring any unforeseen changes in oil markets, financial markets or the political landscape, according to Tidwell.
Tidwell said AAA’s experts work with industry experts that look at the refinery situation, and the oil markets.
“Looking at that helps us forecast somewhat. But then there is always the unknown, so it’s a wait and watch,” she added.
Thursday’s gas average in Pennsylvania was $2.85 per gallon, unchanged overnight and down 3 cents in the last week. The Philadelphia (five-county) area gas average Thursday was $2.83 today, down a penny overnight and down 3 cents in the last week.
Pennsylvania is sixth among the top 10 most expensive states for gas.
In contrast, under the DOL’s now-rescinded six-factor test, a worker needed to meet all the following tests to qualify as an unpaid intern. If even one factor was untrue, the intern needed to be paid.
• The training is similar to training the student would get in a vocational school.
• The training is for the benefit of the intern.
• The training doesn’t replace the work of a regular employee.
• The intern is not entitled to a job at the end of the internship.
• The intern understands he or she is not entitled to wages for the training.
• The employer that provides the training not only doesn’t benefit from it, but in fact the training may actually hamper normal
business functions.
The changes in the DOL’s intern test are significant in that employers may now consider the whole of the relationship. But a major factor remains constant: Internship experiences should still be primarily educational if they are to be unpaid.
The key to remember is this: Employers must be aware that the DOL’s sixfactor
test for determining whether interns must be paid is now obsolete, having been replaced by a seven-factor “primary beneficiary” test, which requires the side-by-side consideration of all factors. picked up 2 cents to $1.74 a gallon. Heating oil rose 1 cent to $1.89 a gallon. Natural gas slipped 1 cent to $2.58 per 1,000 cubic feet.
Still, energy companies mostly fell. They’ve done far worse than any other part of the market lately: of the 32 energy companies in the S&P 500, only six are currently higher than they were at the start of the year.
Gold lost $2.70 to $1,355.30 an ounce. Silver fell 8 cents to $16.80 an ounce. Copper added 1 cent to $3.25 a pound.
The dollar slid to 106.27 yen from 107.09 yen. The euro rose to $1.2506 from $1.2435.
France’s CAC 40 climbed 1.1 percent, led by a big gain from Airbus. Germany’s DAX added 0.1 percent and Britain’s FTSE 100 rose 0.3 percent.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 1.5 percent and in Hong Kong the Hang Seng advanced 2 percent in a halfday trading session.
Markets in mainland China, South Korea and Taiwan were closed for the lunar new year holiday.