Gas prices rise as spring break travelers hit the road

SHERMAN, Texas (KXII) - Spring break is here for many Texoma schools and families, but the one thing you probably won’t get a break from is higher gas prices.

“With the prices so high, it makes it difficult to travel,” said Jeremy Mathis, a Texas driver. “$3, $3.25, $3.50 a gallon. It’s a lot.”

Wherever you’re headed by car, the price of gas always follows.

“It also affects childcare,” said Mathis. “It also affects, you know, the commute. It’s a lot. It’s a lot to deal with.”

This year prices are rising with the increase in demand from spring break travelers.

“This is the first normal spring break where there’s not travel restrictions related to COVID-19, and so that’s playing into it, and then likely we’ll see that again this summer,” said Daniel Armbruster, AAA spokesperson.

According to AAA, the average price of gas in the Sherman and Denison area is about $3.10.

“The Sherman Denison average dropped a penny, which is good news for drivers who, of course, are going to be hitting the roads over the next few days,” said Armbruster.

Gas is more than 80 cents lower than a year ago.

But prices are now 13 cents higher than this time last week.

“You do have increased demand because travel starts picking up, but then you also have the switchover to the summer blend gasoline,” said Armbruster.

The EPA requires summer blend gasoline to help lower emissions during warmer months.

“It is also a little bit more expensive to produce, and some of that cost gets passed on to drivers,” said Armbruster.

But drivers are not so eager to pay for those prices.

“Hopefully, the prices go down,” said Mathis.

Before that can happen, AAA said the U.S. would have to face concerns about an economic slowdown and deal with an increase in demand for crude oil in China.

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