Tony McShaw glanced at the price display as he filled up his 1998 Ford Ranger at the Hess gas station in Pottsville and didn't like what he saw.
Although he only bought $15 of regular gas Thursday, the cost at $3.75 a gallon irritated him.
"Every time you turn around, it's going up. It goes up more than it goes down," he said.
Motorists could have a little more green in their wallets down the road if the price peaks in the near future, some experts suggest.
"I can't imagine it going up a whole lot more," Patrick DeHaan, senior petroleum analyst with www.GasBuddy.com, said.
He said prices could rise by a nickel or a dime before they start to decline, which could be in days or weeks.
The average price of gas nationally Friday was $3.68 cents. It was a penny less than a week ago, but 12 cents more than last month and 15 cents more than last year at this time.
Prices in Hawaii are the highest - $4.38 a gallon for regular gas on Friday, according to the AAA Daily Fuel Gauge Report.
In Pennsylvania, drivers on average were paying a dime more than the national average for a gallon of regular gas Friday.
DeHaan said he sees the increase due largely to two factors: refineries that are going offline for maintenance and the switch to summer blends of gasoline.
The price of crude oil was $99 a barrel Thursday, when the latest data was available.
He said he does not see world tensions, such as those in the Ukraine or elsewhere, as driving factors now.
However, that sentiment is not shared by AAA.
"Ongoing geopolitical tensions between Russia and the Ukraine remain a central reason for crude oil prices remaining elevated, which has contributed to higher gas prices," according to the AAA Fuel Gauge Report this week.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration in its Short-Term Energy and Summer Fuels Outlook last month said regular gasoline prices should average $3.57 per gallon from April through September. The range in prices are from $3.66 a gallon in May to a drop to $3.57 in September, the EIA said. Sean Hill, who works at the EIA and is a petroleum and biofuel forecaster, said the higher prices are largely attributed to increased crude oil prices.
"For April 2013, West Texas Intermediate crude oil prices, which are the U.S. benchmark, averaged $92 per barrel while Brent crude oil prices, the global benchmark, averaged $102 per barrel. This April, WTI prices have averaged $102 per barrel while Brent prices have averaged roughly $108 per barrel. This has been driven by higher levels of U.S. refinery runs (i.e., more demand for crude oil) compared to the same time last year, as well as global issues driving up oil prices such as the tensions in the Ukraine, as well as ongoing supply outages in Libya. Gasoline inventories are also slightly lower than at the same time last year, despite higher levels of U.S. refinery output (U.S. refinery runs, or demand for crude oil, is approximately 1 million barrels per day higher at this time of the year compared to last year, which means higher output of products such as gasoline). This suggests that potentially U.S. gasoline demand is up, but it could also mean that we are seeing continued high levels of gasoline exports. This remains to be seen though," he said.
Gas prices vary per region and are dependent on a variety of factors.
For example, California had the second highest price for regular gas Thursday at $4.26, followed by Connecticut at $3.95. The lowest for a gallon of gas was in Missouri at $3.43, according to AAA data.
"Gasoline prices can vary considerably by region. This is due to a combination of different tax rates, the proximity to U.S. refining centers and certain differences in environmental standards. In our latest Short Term Energy Outlook (April), we forecast that U.S. regular gasoline retail prices will average $3.57 per gallon this summer, compared to $3.58 per gallon last summer. We are starting at a higher point than we did at the same time last year, but we expect prices to steadily fall in the coming months compared to last year when they remained largely flat." Hill said.
Craig Nakata, 40, of Pottsville, was not shy about expressing his dislike of the prices as he filled up his Ford Taurus on Thursday at Sheetz on the Gordon Nagle Trail.
"I personally hate them. No reason for them to go up, really," he said.
With little money in his pocket, he bought $21.01 of regular gas, giving him 5.63 gallons.
"It was on E. The light and all," he said.
If he fills up his tank, the cost is about $67, he said.
To fill the other two family vehicles, a Ford Ranger and a Chevy Cavalier, the cost is about $80 and $60, respectively.
Jim Wagner, 50, of Ashland, said there is not much anyone can do about the price of gas.
"Until we figure out a better way to get around, there's not going to be many choices," he said while pumping gas at Sheetz into his mother's car, a Chevy Malibu.
He didn't know how much gas was needed but said he would fill it with "however much she drinks."
The cost was $38 for just more than 10 gallons of regular gas.
Laurita Buehler, 75, of Pottsville, also has decided she can't win the gas war.
"I resigned that I have to pay for it. Either that or walk," she said as she bought $20 worth of gas at the Hess station,
Bob Wachter, chief executive officer with AAA Schuylkill County, said he did not know the exact reason why the price of gas is going up.
However, it is reasonable to conclude the switch to summer blend gasoline is a contributing factor.
"It's a guessing game," he said.