One-quarter of oil refineries in the United States are closed or running at limited capacity, lifting gas prices as Americans prepare for the holiday weekend.
Let’s talk about the economic impacts of this storm for all of us. Oil refineries shut down in the wake of Harvey sending gas prices soaring across America. Just as millions of us hit the road for labor day weekend and Rebecca Jarvis joins us with more on the ripple effects for drivers. So talk a little about what’s driving this. So, Dan, this storm hit the heart of energy country. 20% of our nation’s refineries are now shut down which is why you’re starting to see those shortages of gasoline, the lines that we’ve seen, the very long lines in Dallas and that’s why the department of energy has taken the extraordinary step of releasing some oil from our nation’s strategic petroleum reserve which they only do in emergency situations. What will we see drivers out on the road this holiday weekend in terms of prices? Already this morning Americans are paying the highest amount of gas they’ve paid all year. The national average this morning, $2.52. It has spiked 18 cents since pre-harvey and we’re expecting to see another 20 to 30-cent jump in the coming weeks. Good news for drivers, this should be short lived. By mid-september we should be back to usual. Very few escaping the effects of Harvey. Rebecca Jarvis, thank you.
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