Get ready to pay even more at the pump

Gasoline prices are expected to continue to rise over the next several weeks, according to an analyst for GasBuddy.com.

Part of the reason is that refineries start the annual transition from “winter blend” to “summer blend” gas about this time, and that can disrupt supplies, but there’s even more going on this year, said Patrick DeHaan, senior petroleum analyst for GasBuddy.

“Wednesday brought a big price rally in gasoline markets and gasoline wholesalers are seeing huge increases,” DeHaan said in a news release. “Wholesale prices today alone have increased coast to coast from 10 to 27 cents per gallon; and when you add that on top of the increases that occurred earlier this month, it’s inevitable that retail prices will climb aggressively in weeks ahead.”

The ongoing strike of the United Steelworkers Union, which began Feb. 1, is also beginning to affect operations at refineries in California, Texas, Louisiana, Indiana, Kentucky and Ohio, according to the release.

“Volatility is the name of the game right now and we expect that to translate into 10-cent increases in retail gasoline, week after week over the next two to three weeks, with larger, more immediate increases in West Coast areas,” DeHaan said.

This story was originally published February 26, 2015 at 9:26 AM with the headline "Get ready to pay even more at the pump."