Fall Outlook On Gas Prices In North Dakota. Here We Go Again?

One of the most anticipated hunting seasons of the year opens up this weekend.  The North Dakota waterfowl season is set to begin this Saturday, September 24th.  All good waterfowlers know that scouting is the key to success when it comes to duck and goose hunting.  Rising gas prices sure make it difficult to justify driving around looking around for ducks.

20-cent jump in gas prices in one week in Bismarck Mandan.

Most gas stations in Bismarck Mandan were sitting at $3.59 for a gallon of gas to start this week.  Now, here we are on Thursday with most stations in town jumping up to $3.79 a gallon.  That has a lot of people thinking, "Here we go again?"  Are we heading back to $4 dollars plus gas again?

According to an article on CNN Business, National gas prices have been falling every day for more than three months.  The longest streak since 2005.  AAA says gas prices increased on Wednesday by a penny to a national average of $3.68 a gallon.  So, we're now paying more than a good share of the rest of the country in Bismarck Mandan.

What happens next?

That begs the question, why are gas prices even rising when fall typically brings some relief at the pump?  The semi-good news is that gas prices shouldn't increase too much in the coming weeks.  According to the CNN article, Tom Koza, who is the global head of energy analysis for OPIS, which tracks gas prices for AAA claims prices will probably remain relatively close to where they are now.  Instability with the Russia/Ukraine war and hurricane season could put a monkey in the wrench in that though.

Could gas prices fall below $3.00?

The article does go on to say we could see sharply lower gas prices by the end of the year, which may even dip below $3.00 dollars a gallon.  Let's hope this 20-cent jump in one week is only a minor temporary bump in the road.