No relief in sight at Houston gas pumps

If you're planning a driving trip soon, it's going to cost you more - perhaps a lot more - than it did last year.

Gasoline prices are higher at this point in February than they've ever been at this time of year, and analysts say there's no relief in sight.

In Houston, a gallon of regular unleaded averaged $3.55 on Tuesday, up 7 cents in a week and 26 cents for the month. A year ago, a gallon of regular unleaded cost an average $3.23 in the city.

Gasoline prices are rising as the cost of crude oil has jumped, as crude represents 76 percent of the price motorists pay at the pump.

The price of crude oil has traded above $100 a barrel since Feb. 10, as tension has mounted between the West and Iran over its nuclear ambitions.

Jitters over Iran are "the No. 1 reason" that gasoline prices have climbed steeply in recent weeks, said Brian Milne, refined fuels editor at Telvent DTN, a business information company that specializes in energy.

Milne expects gasoline prices in Texas to rise to about $4 a gallon in the coming weeks if tensions over Iran don't ease.

Added to the Iran jitters are last year's closures of two refineries in the Northeast and the shutdown of a refinery in the U.S. Virgin Islands that had supplied fuel to the United States.

Coping strategies

"I don't see prices falling even though demand has been falling in the United States," said Bernard Weinstein, associate director of the Maguire Energy Institute at Southern Methodist University. "That's because the price of oil is more or less determined globally."

The soaring prices have rattled some and prompted others to make changes.

Janae Gonzales, a Texas Southern University student, said she has stopped eating out as often and started using grocery-store coupons to make up for the extra money she spends on gasoline. She's also stopped coming home as often during gaps in her class schedule, heading to the campus library instead.

"I hate it," said Gonzales, 20. "I have to stay at school on my breaks."

Those with bigger, less economical vehicles are feeling the pinch especially hard.

"They need to do something," said Sonia Wilburn, a 29-year-old home-health-care provider who lives in Midtown. "I just put $20 in my tank and it's still on E."

But other Houstonians took a more philosophical approach to the increases.

Landscaper Robert Fishman, 54, for example, noted that "gas prices are hard on everybody" and "paying for gas is just part of life."

Uptown resident Melanie Martinez, 34, even managed a tank half-full attitude.

"I'm not happy about gas prices," she said. "But my family is happy because they're in the oil business."

Staying close to home

Tom Kloza, chief analyst at the Oil Price Information Service, said gas prices in Texas may average $3.85 to $4.10 a gallon this spring along the Texas coast. Prices may be somewhat higher in Houston, where the Environmental Protection Agency mandates use of cleaner-burning, reformulated gasoline to combat smog.

And San Antonio could actually benefit from higher gasoline prices. In the past, when gas prices have jumped, "surprisingly, it has helped us," said Marco Barros, president and CEO of the San Antonio Area Tourism Council. "Instead of going to another destination, Texans decide to vacation in their own state," and the city is a favored drive destination for leisure travel.

Henry Feldman, CEO of Martin Feldman Hospitality Management, agreed, saying that if fuel prices continue to rise, airline fares will increase, too, and boost the city as a drive destination.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

vvaughan@express-news.net

travis.alford@chron.com