GREENSBORO, N.C. — Gas prices have reached the highest level they've been in eight years and consumers are feeling it at the pump.
GasBuddy said the average cost is $3.33 a gallon in Greensboro. The national average right now is $3.50 per gallon, according to GasBuddy.
Unfortunately, it doesn't look like prices will go down anytime soon.
Patrick De Haan is the head of petroleum analysis with GasBuddy. He said there are many factors that could fuel prices to continue to go up.
De Haan said in March, April and May the demand for gas rises as people travel more. Also, he said we switch to more expensive gas during the summer which is mandate by the EPA.
"I think this year with all the supply chain issues and imbalances, we could see prices at least nationally, get really close to that $4.00 a gallon mark and Russia does invade Ukraine, we could go even higher than that," De Haan said.
"Everything is just so fragile right now and weather or geopolitics or whatever can really disturb things in ways that we've never really experienced right now," Todd McFall, Wake Forest University Department of Economics, said.
McFall said even with inflation, he is optimistic things will get better with COVID-19 numbers going down.
De Haan does believe there's a light at the end of the tunnel too. He said if there's a new deal with Iran, it could bring prices down.
"There's been renewed talk of a new deal with Iran. Iran, one of the largest oil producers, has been sanctioned since 2017 when President Trump pulled the US out of the joint plan of action so Iran hasn't been able to sell much of its oil on the global market, but if there's a new deal with Iran that could bring relief just in time to a market that desperately needs more oil," De Haan said.
De Haan's best advice is to shop around for the cheapest prices at gas stations because numbers vary. For example, GasBuddy shows some Greensboro stations have gas at $3.08 a gallon while one is listed for $3.89 per gallon.
You can track the lowest prices at the pump near you with GasBuddy's tracker.