Price jump at the pump causing strain in the pockets of Miami Valley drivers

Gas prices jumped more than 20 cents overnight in the Dayton area, with many places selling it for as high as $3.59 a gallon.

As shown on News Center 7 at 5:00 , Xavier Hershovitz caught up with drivers getting gas today.

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“Once the bottom line hits at the end of the month, you’re like, ‘Wow, I spent $3,000 this month on fuel,’” Daniel Lockhart, of Spring Valley said.

Lockhart was filling up at the Speedway in Xenia. The price there was $3.55 per gallon.

“I run a small business, like I said, so my gas bill’s usually as much as most people’s payroll,” he said. “So it really puts a strain on us.”

Kara Hitchens, AAA’s public affairs manager, said there are a lot of factors that go into the price of gas. Any little change to one of them and there’s a price change at the pump.

“We have the cost of crude oil going up, then we’re in the middle of summer, so obviously we know the demand has gone up, even after coming out of Fourth of July, which was, you know, a record-breaking year for travel numbers,” Hitchens said.

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She said that come fall when the demand is down and we are no longer in the expensive summer blend, prices should come down.

“We just tell people, ‘Ride it out.’ You know, come fall, it’ll all probably shake back out and level out again,” Hitchens said.

It’s a relief that Lockhart said can’t get here soon enough.

“I just really wish we can get some relief and everything would come down,” he said.