AUSTIN, Texas — Gas prices are climbing again in Austin as uncertainty surrounding the war with Iran continues to rattle energy markets.

In the Austin area, prices have increased 23 cents per gallon in the last week, bringing the average to $3.45. The rise follows President Trump saying yesterday that hostilities with Iran were essentially back on. In a twist, the price of a barrel of Brent crude fell today, a sign that gas prices for consumers could remain volatile.

For drivers traveling between Austin and San Marcos, the price at the pump is creeping up, though some say it is not as high as it was earlier in the conflict.

Even Perkins, who was filling up his tank, said, “As of now, to fill up my tank is probably around 40 bucks.” He added, “A couple of months ago it was probably like 60-something, but I definitely have noticed a difference in our gas prices.”

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Daniel Armbruster, a spokesman for AAA Texas, said it is difficult to predict what comes next.

“It’s hard to say what’s going to happen, though, right? And that’s the difficult part about predicting gas prices,” Armbruster said.

Armbruster said it is also hard to pinpoint exactly why prices in Austin rose more sharply over the last week.

“Supply and demand obviously plays a role in that. There’s also distribution costs,” he said. He also pointed to summer travel in the Austin-San Marcos region, a popular vacation area, and the impact of traffic along Interstate 35. “Certainly I-35 is a major corridor where a lot of people are going to be taking road trips, or it’s going to be part of their journey that’s going to have an impact as well,” Armbruster said.

Perkins said the volatility has made gas prices a daily concern.

“It’s definitely something that I think about like, I’ll wake up what’s the gas price going to be today? I don’t see a whole lot of consistency with it,” he said.

Across Texas, other major cities are seeing similar prices. The average in Dallas is $3.38 per gallon. In Houston, it is $3.34 a gallon. San Antonio drivers are paying $3.45 a gallon, and in Killeen, the average today is $3.40.