UH professor says $5 gasoline could be here soon

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- The price of regular, unleaded gasoline remains lower in Texas than many other states, but that doesn't mean Texans aren't feeling the impact of higher prices at the pump.

Statistics provided from AAA show Texans pay an average of $3.86 a gallon for regular, unleaded gas - a 13-cent increase from Monday's average of $3.73.

Furthermore, the Houston region also saw a significant increase in the average price of gasoline over the past 24 hours, as AAA reports regular, unleaded gas in our area rose to $3.86 Tuesday morning - a 10-cent increase from Monday.

Dr. Praveen Kumar, who serves as executive director of the University of Houston's Gutierrez Energy Management Institute, says those large increases should slow down over the next few days, but the reprieve won't last long.

"My guess is you're not going to get the 10-cent increases over the next few days," Kumar said. "But, if I look out at the next two weeks, I expect gas prices, most likely, will reach $4.50."

Kumar expects gas for most Texans to cost between $4.50 and $5 a gallon for most of the summer.

"It's going to be an expensive summer," he said.

Kumar said prices should go down in the latter part of the year, as demand wanes, the industry recovers from the impacts of the pandemic and the United States gets oil from other sources.

However, any unforeseen issues that impact the price of crude oil have the ability to negate that prediction.