ABC-7 Listens: Residents notice spike in gas prices

A number of residents across El Paso have taken note of a sudden spike in local gas prices.

In El Paso, the average price a gallon of gas on Jan. 19 was $1.78. Two days later the price went up to $1.98.

El Pasoan Carlos Vertia noticed the spike. “A family of four cars running all the time – it takes a hit on the finances.”

However, according to UTEP professor of economics Thomas Fullerto n, that 20 ¢ swing in prices can be chalked up to seasonal patterns and shouldn’t be reason for alarm.

And yet, that relatively harmless trend could eventually be made worse by the government shutdown.

“For every week that the shutdown persists, it leads to a 0.1% decline in GDP and to the extent that that continues that obviously puts the expansion at risk,” Professor Fullerton said.

But the price changes have some residents keeping a close eye on gas station numbers while others noticed but are still far from panicking.

“Our gas bills are a lot lower than they have been in times past,” said business owner Manuel Ramirez. “This past couple months we are getting a lot more out of vehicles with gas prices being so low.”

Professor Fullerton added that despite the spike, the over arching trend still seems favorable for now.