NJ drivers stunned as gas prices jump 11 cents after Labor Day. What happens next week?

💲Gas prices have jumped 11 cents on average in New Jersey since Labor Day

💲Completed maintenance projects and winter blend gas will help bring down prices

💲$2 per gallon gas is not a reality

The tropics are quiet and world politics are relatively quiet. So why did gas prices jump after Labor Day in New Jersey?

Fuel industry analyst for Gas Buddy Patrick De Haan said that two major factors pushed the average price of gas by 11 cents a gallon: the price per barrel of oil up to $64 and refinery maintenance that started earlier than usual following the summer driving season. Refineries were operating 24/7 to keep up with the demand.

"New Jersey has the distinction of being one of 13 states where gas prices today are actually higher than they were a year ago. But the increases should start to fade when we make that transition back to cheaper winter gasoline next week, on Tuesday. That should usher in some decreases that eventually show up at the pump," De Haan said.

The good news is that the maintenance should be complete soon and reverse the price spike.

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Is $2 per gallon possible?

De Haan does not think that President Donald Trump's wish for $2 per-gallon gas is a reality.

"It really is a lot of fantasy at this point. Taxes have gone up, and the cost of labor has gone up. Inflation has not just suddenly receded back to 2020 levels. It's kind of a hope and a dream. Will prices ever get as low as they were prior to the pandemic? I think that's an impossibility, whether it's grocery prices, home prices, your wages, or gas prices," De Haan said.

While some have said Trump is referring to the wholesale price, De Haan said no gas station sells it at that price.

Home heating oil and diesel supplies are tighter heading into the fall and winter, which will likely send those prices up as well but an increase in supply may blunt higher prices.

"If you haven't already filled your home heating oil tank, it's probably going to get a little bit more expensive in the weeks ahead," De Haan said. "Diesel and heating oil inventories finally took a nice jump up. They had been running as much as 20% below the five-year average but in the last week, according to the Energy Information Administration, inventories jumped by nearly 5 million barrels. That's good enough to boost them to just 9% below the five-year average."

Once the weather gets colder, De Haan expects heating and diesel prices to follow a seasonal trend upward.

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