SOUTH BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) – Gas prices surged 9 cents overnight to a national average of $4.39 per gallon, marking the biggest one-day jump in prices in the last 6 weeks.
Friday’s average in Vermont was $4.33 per gallon, up from $4.24 Thursday, and $4.05 in early April.
According to AAA, prices are now at the highest level since July 2022, at the start of the war in Ukraine. The war in Iran is to blame for the current surge and growing concerns over languishing peace talks.
The spike is a heavy weight on both daily commuters and small businesses in Vermont.
Heidi Gnaedinger, owner of Genus Garden Design, does landscaping around Burlington’s Hill Section. Though she doesn’t drive long distances, she’s at the pump about once a week.
“I’m sure it’ll be over $100 to fill up my tank,” Gnaedinger said.
After filling up, the cost was even higher than expected.
“I thought it was going to be $100 but it’s $125 to fill up my tank. That’s ridiculous,” she said.
The price increase is affecting her business.
“Definitely. It’s costing me a lot of money,” Gnaedinger said.
She said she has begun thinking about adding a surcharge for gas or raising her hourly rate by $5.
AAA has been forecasting fuel and travel for decades. AAA representative Dan Goodman said they don’t usually see big changes in travel unless gas spikes to more than $5 per gallon.
“It’s more when gas prices hit that— unfortunately— hit that $5 mark, that’s when we see travel behavior change,” Goodman said.
But even with prices still below that $5 mark in Vermont, some residents say it’s enough to make them change course.
“That definitely would affect any plans that we would have. And also airfare, no travel plans on the airfare because that’s going up a little bit, too,” said Charlie Fitzpatrick of South Burlington.
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