By NICK GOSNELL
Hutch Post
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — Demand continues to increase as the summer solstice approaches, so gas prices have continued to rise in Kansas.
"Since mid-May nationwide, gasoline demand has increased 18% to about 7.9 million barrels per day," said Shawn Steward with AAA Kansas. "That slow but steady demand has pushed the national gas price up by 13% in that same time frame. In Kansas, today's average gas price is $1.90, which is up from $1.58 a month ago."
Kansas is 11th cheapest in the nation.
"If we look at Reno County, we're averaging $1.89 a gallon," Steward said. "In the Hutchinson area, we see $1.89 up to $1.93 at most stations."
Gas will continue to go up in the short term, but not dramatically right away.
"More driving is leading to growing gasoline demand," Steward said. "It's slow but steady, but we don't anticipate seeing a spike to typical summer prices. The demand this summer won't be sufficient to drive down the stock levels of gas that we had in the system backed up from during the shutdowns during the coronavirus. There's so much oil and gas in the system. It's taking a while for us to work through that."
With that said, gas will likely get above $2 a gallon at some point, but not near $2.50 as it has been during the summer in past years.