>> If you've been to a gas station lately, you already know it's costing you more.

As of today, gas prices in Cook County reached an average of $4 and $0.50 per gallon.

It comes as the war in Iran continues to threaten oil shipments around the world.

Joining us to discuss more in-depth are Brian Thompson, a professor of economics at DePaul University.

Molly Hart, a spokeswoman at AAA and Nate Harris, CEO of the Illinois Fuel and Retail Association.

Thanks to all 3 of you for joining us.

Molly Hart, let's start with you, please.

How have gas prices changed in Chicago over the last month?

Gas prices have jumped as a matter of fact, from a week ago today, it's gone up $0.30 >> A month ago, we've jumped up to a $1.30 so gas prices are rising.

It's due to conflict in Iran jumped up by a dollar from left to go.

How say that compares to this time last year.

This time last year, we were not seeing these prices at all, but gas prices to go up at this time of year.

And that's because we're switching over from the winner plan to the summer plan, which is more expensive to make refineries going to do says the finer ease do seasonal not so they're not producing at full capacity for a couple weeks.

So we do see that uptick.

This is a big uptick.

And then additionally spraying people are getting the car going for spring break and then some are doing their summer vacations.

Do right went on the road planning for them?

Yes, I've got spring break next week mate, Harris, over to you.

How gas station owners?

How do they calculate or decide where to set prices for a gallon of gas?

>> Yeah, thanks for having me.

I don't really decide what the price of oil is going to be.

So it all depends on the global market.

Like was mentioned before conflict with Iran has caused oil prices to jump up.

And so when you take price of the oil, plus all of the costs with refining its transporting it getting in and the pipelines and then eventually getting it into the gas stations itself.

Then the gas stations have to, you know, run a business than to pay property taxes.

They have to make a little bit of a profit.

And then include the about a dollar in taxes, from state, local and federal officials.

All of that goes into the price that you see on the board as you drive past.

>> And then Illinois, we currently have higher average gas prices than surrounding states.

Me.

Why is that?

>> Well, a lot of that is due to the get to motor fuel taxes most of most of the same fuel that we use here in Illinois is the same that the use in Indiana, Chicago, the Chicago Land and the St.

Louis metro area do have a a special blend.

But most of difference in the price is due to taxes.

Thank you.

>> Brian Thompson.

What factors influence the price of oil globally?

>> Well, I mean, it's it's economic related, right terms of what you think about what they were, the economy is going in the future.

We're interested to go in the future.

But Ankeny of the market supply and demand.

And so if you expected to be less supply that can raise prices, if there's less demand in the future that can bring prices back down to it's very market driven widely seen gas prices jumped so quickly.

It's very behavior right to like you, but you tend to tend to see the on the bad news.

It, you know, prices go very quickly.

And then when things are to recover and brazen pacer to come down, it comes down much slower.

And so it's very behavioral.

It is the fact that everyone's kind of trying to make a market and figure out where pricing to be in the future.

There's a lot that goes into that.

>> I'm Nate had a gas station owners.

How did they respond in the early days of the conflict with Iran?

>> Yeah.

I VE had their prices reflect what the global market was doing.

So has the price of oil jumped the price of gas falling behind.

Now it's tied an exact correlation, but it's it's generally as one goes up, the other goes up as well in the same manner.

>> Can we expect this to keep happening to station in prices to keep climbing?

>> I do think so.

As long as the conflict going on, I think the price of oil is going to increase, which will therefore increase the price of motor fuel, whether it's gas or diesel.

>> Molly, how might these high gas prices factor into people's decisions to travel?

You know, we're talking about, you know, planning for summer break, spring break, which has happened for a lot of folks right now.

>> Show, you know, they're gonna just budget differently for the most part, if they were maybe can go away for a week someone may might only do 4 days.

You know, if they're going to stay the hotel, they might not.

They might stay at a less expensive hotel, maybe go to casual dining set of fine dining.

But those tips you can also do, which is take any extra cargo carpet fuel economy.

If you have a bike rack and not using it, take it all.

If you doing combine them into one, you have a fender families that need to do it, do it to all.

These are just couldn't help but a little bit money back into wallet.

>> What about the, you choosing between flying versus driving?

Right?

Because I think we can expect the same out of airlines, which I'm going to come to one of you on as well.

>> Right.

And I think you need to look into what the price of a flight is.

They might be going up as they are going up as well.

So as a matter of the distance and how much to be paying for gas as well as what the airfare us.

Brian, a guest on that on that point.

us a little bit more about how oil and gas prices are connected to other parts of the economy.

How else are we feeling the impact of gas prices?

Sure, like this moment in time is really kind of defined by what we call this Kay County where there's people they're doing people that invest in the stock market, people whose jobs seeing higher wages.

>> They're benefiting from the environment.

So they're not as affected.

But there's also people that are very sensitive to prices in sensitive changes like I mean, those people much more exposed to this environment will come experiencing.

Are there not other ways that, you know, purchases that we all have to make, right?

The food that we eat, the stuff we buy in stores, it's got to go on a trip to get to the store where I'm going to buy it in.

That truck is running on diesel.

And we're seeing those prices in things that the tariffs that you from previous never mentioned previously.

All that kind of his few into the economy slowly, but surely the now we're just seeing it.

No more holistically.

>> Nader, there are concerns about possible gas shortages in the U.S.

>> Not that I've heard in this is not a supply problem.

This is uncertainty and volatility problem.

>> How does this compare to previous, you know, problems or or energy crises that we've experienced?

>> You know, the most recent one I can think of was there was increase when Russia went to war with Ukraine.

This is much bigger than that.

I'm not an expert much beyond that.

I have heard that this is one of the worst crises we've had.

>> Same question to you, right How do you think this compares to energy crises or gas lows we've had we've seen certainly is a tentative.

We're experiencing a lot of uncertainty which makes it difficult for businesses to predict what they're going to do to guard, to pricing and what they think man to going to be in the travel industry where people travel with a not travel.

>> All that uncertainty makes it very difficult to plan.

And so that makes it more difficult for people to price.

And that affects demand over time.

>> If the conflict in Iran word and say tomorrow with gas prices drop as quickly as they rose?

I don't think so.

I think that you know that because we are in very headline, experienced environment, we don't necessarily always believe that like things are going to be the way we expected.

So I can I think we want to see more certainty over time.

And I think that they will take more time to see prices come Molly, how can individuals sort of cut down their gas bills?

You mentioned some folks are going to be budgeting differently.

going to be budgeting differently.

And you can use our AAA mobile app and it's come to show you different gas stations and the price so you can choose the one that has.

>> The lowest price at the pump.

Again, there's other savings like I said you know, do you San Juan Brown and then of people are plan on getting on the plane?

You probably this summer for fall.

You probably want to book now because some of the airlines are also talking about wrong, reducing you want to get on that plane enjoy your trip, maybe carpool and Yes.

Alright.

That's where we'll