ARE ALREADY NEGOTIATED AND AGREED TO, AND WITH THE STRAIT OPENING BACK UP, YOU MAY BE WONDERING HOW ALL OF THAT WILL IMPACT THE PRICES YOU PAY HERE AT HOME. AT THE GAS PUMP, WDSU REPORTER LEADING UP FOLK JOINS US LIVE AT TEN WITH THE ANSWER. LENA. YEAH. TRAVERS MACKEL GAS PRICES ARE STILL SOARING AS THE STATE’S AVERAGE IS ABOUT $3.70 A GALLON. AND IT LOOKS LIKE THE ROAD TO CHEAPER PRICES IS GOING TO BE A LONG ONE IN LOUISIANA, PRICES AT THE PUMP CLOSE TO HITTING THE $4 MARK BEFORE THE SOARING COSTS AT THE START OF THE YEAR, THE AVERAGE NUMBER WAS $3.26 A GALLON, AND WITH THE STRAIT REOPENING FRIDAY, NUMBERS WILL EVENTUALLY START TO DROP. ENERGY EXPERTS SAY YOU COULD START SEEING SOME SMALL EFFECTS IN THE US. AND BY THAT I MEAN ANY ORDER OF 10 TO $0.20 A GALLON. BUT THAT DIFFERENCE AT THE PUMP WOULDN’T BE IMMEDIATE OR DRAMATIC, ACCORDING TO ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR OF TULANE ENERGY INSTITUTE PROFESSOR ERIC SMITH, AS THE PROCESS TO REFINE AND SHIP OIL IS LENGTHY IMMEDIATELY. EVEN IF THE SHIPS START MOVING, YOU NEED TO MOVE SOMETHING LIKE 100 SHIPS A DAY IN AND OUT, AND IT’S GOING TO TAKE A WHILE FOR THOSE SHIPS TO, YOU KNOW, ONCE THEY CLEAR THE THE STRAITS OF HORMUZ TO TRAVEL FOR ANYWHERE FROM 40 TO 60 DAYS TO GET TO THEIR DESTINATION. BUT THERE ARE STEPS DRIVERS CAN TAKE TO MAXIMIZE THEIR BUDGET. WE DOWNLOADED THE APP GASBUDDY TO LOCATE THE CHEAPEST STATIONS IN THE METRO AREA AND SEE IF THE PRICES WERE ACCURATE. THE BIG EASY ON CANAL IS LISTED AS THE CHEAPEST AT $3.19, WHICH MATCHED THE IN-PERSON COST. THIS ONE SEEMS TO ALWAYS HAVE THE CHEAPEST GAS RIGHT NOW. NATHAN ALBRITTON FREQUENTLY USES APPS TO CHECK PUMP PRICES, INCLUDING GASBUDDY. YEAH, YOU SAVE A COUPLE BUCKS HERE AND THERE, AND SOME OF THEM GIVE YOU CASH BACK. YOU COULD USE IN THE STORES. BUT AFTER SEEING THAT OIL PRICES DROP FRIDAY, HE’S HOPING THAT SOON THE SAME WILL HAPPEN FOR FUEL. THIS GAS STATION ON BROAD STREET WAS LISTED AS $0.15 HIGHER ON THE APP, BUT ACTUALLY TIED FOR THE CHEAPEST PRICE AND HAD A LINE SO LONG IT OVERFILLED INTO THE BUSY STREET. AND ALTHOUGH WE AREN’T SEEING THOSE PRICES CHANGE AT THE PUMP JUST YET, WE ARE SEEING A SIGNIFICANT DROP IN THE FUTURES OF CRUDE OIL. ACCORDING TO WEST TEXAS INTERMEDIATE, THE PRICE THE FUTURES PRICE OF CRUDE OIL IS ABOUT $83 A GALLON, WHICH IS ABOUT A $30 DROP OF WHAT WE SAW DURI
Soaring gas prices continue in New Orleans, relief yet to come
With one of the most vital trade ports for global oil opening back up, prices at the pump may take several weeks to drop. Here’s why.
Louisiana drivers are dealing with one of the highest periods in history to buy gas, and although the Strait of Hormuz opened on Friday, experts told WDSU the road to cheaper fuel is not immediate. “The response is not a light switch,” said Eric Smith, Tulane business professor and associate director of the Tulane Energy Institute, “Even if the ships start moving, you need to move something like 100 ships a day, in and out. And it’s going to take a while for those ships to, once they clear the Strait of Hormuz, to travel for anywhere from 40 to 60 days to get to their destination.” Smith elaborated on how other countries will see more of a direct impact, as the U.S. relies on Canada for a majority of its crude oil. “I would think that you’ll see some positive impact on fuel prices at the pump in places like China and Japan and Korea, probably in the next month or two, because that’s where most of their crude comes from, is the Middle East,” he said. According to Smith, the most change the United States might see at the pump is a .10 to .20 cent decrease over the next few weeks. Friday’s data from West Texas Intermediate showed that crude oil futures are down to about $83 per barrel, a drop from the $117 cost during the Strait’s closure.
Louisiana drivers are dealing with one of the highest periods in history to buy gas, and although the Strait of Hormuz opened on Friday, experts told WDSU the road to cheaper fuel is not immediate.
“The response is not a light switch,” said Eric Smith, Tulane business professor and associate director of the Tulane Energy Institute, “Even if the ships start moving, you need to move something like 100 ships a day, in and out. And it’s going to take a while for those ships to, once they clear the Strait of Hormuz, to travel for anywhere from 40 to 60 days to get to their destination.”
Smith elaborated on how other countries will see more of a direct impact, as the U.S. relies on Canada for a majority of its crude oil.
“I would think that you’ll see some positive impact on fuel prices at the pump in places like China and Japan and Korea, probably in the next month or two, because that’s where most of their crude comes from, is the Middle East,” he said.
According to Smith, the most change the United States might see at the pump is a .10 to .20 cent decrease over the next few weeks.
Friday’s data from West Texas Intermediate showed that crude oil futures are down to about $83 per barrel, a drop from the $117 cost during the Strait’s closure.