Gas prices going up in New Jersey … but for how much longer?

You may have noticed — gas prices have been going the wrong way in New Jersey lately.

Kathleen Miller, a spokeswoman for AAA/Mid-Atlantic, said the group pins the upward price creep on late-year demand.

"After Hurricane Harvey, AAA saw, as all of the drivers I am sure in your area have seen, prices went up. After the refineries came back online, prices started to come down again," she said. "But of course, as they came down, they never come down as quickly as they go up. I think that drivers have been very patient, waiting for those prices to come back down to pre-Hurricane Harvey levels."

The average gas price in Jersey this week is $2.47 per gallon, up from $2.45 a week ago. That is not a big increase, but still higher than some drivers expected at this point in the fall season.

"The price volatility can be attributed to a new trend that has emerged during October in the last few years, really — which is an unexpectedly steady demand for gasoline after the end of the summer driving season," Miller said.

But Miller remains optimistic that the usual seasonal pricing will eventually prevail in New Jersey, "but I do think that, as time goes by, we will see it continue to go down."

Joe Cutter is the afternoon news anchor at New Jersey 101.5.

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