WEST HARTFORD, Conn. — There is more pain at the pump across Connecticut and nationwide as gas prices climb higher once again.
"It sucks. It's terrible, I hate it," said Aiden Roche of Bristol.
"Frustrating, yeah I'm not OK with it. We need to do something about it," said Meilany Caimares of Hartford.
There are a couple of reasons why it's costing you more to fill up your tank, according to AAA. The cold winter weather is driving up demand for oil, and tensions between Russia and Ukraine are also contributing.
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"Those political tensions are driving crude oil prices. And crude oil prices make up about three-fourths of what we pay at the pump," said AAA spokesperson Tracy Noble. "Crude oil is closing just around $90 per barrel, and that's $30 per barrel higher than we were seeing in August," she said.
For drivers, it can take a toll on their finances, eating into other parts of their budgets just to be able to get to and from wherever they need to go.
"As a college student paying tuition, absolutely, yeah it's terrible right now," Caimares said.
"I mean it costs me pretty much double to fill an economy car and for people who don't own economy cars it makes a big difference," said Andrew Shields of Watertown.
Rising prices are not just a problem on the roads. Home heating costs are also going up.
"I changed over to natural gas and I'm doing everything I can to just save up for a wood stove right now just because it's not worth it to try to pay for the oil prices with how much the fluctuate. Literally you don't know where they're going to go," Shields said.
According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration the cost of home heating oil is the highest it's been in years, and natural gas prices have also jumped significantly.
This week, U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal joined lawmakers from several other states in writing a letter to the Biden administration calling for the issue to be addressed.
"Stop the natural gas exports, until you have a plan to lower the cost of natural gas to American families," Blumenthal said.
When it comes to gas prices drivers may have to dig deeper into their wallets for a while longer.
"It is just a very vulnerable time. We don't know where prices are going to go," Noble said. "Prices could start declining in the fourth quarter of 2022, but that does not offer anybody any immediate relief," she said.
Gaby Molina is a reporter and anchor at FOX61 News. She can be reached at gmolina@fox61.com. Follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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