Gas prices jumped overnight - and are expected to keep rising - in states along the Gulf of Mexico as offshore oil rigs prepare to abandon ship ahead of Tropical Storm Gustav on Friday.
The price increase was most dramatic in Mississippi, where the statewide average for unleaded gasoline rose nearly 7 cents a gallon on Friday, according to the motorist group AAA. Gas rose by more than 9 cents a gallon in the coastal cities of Biloxi, Gulfport and Pascagoula, said AAA.
Gas also rose by about 3 cents a gallon in Louisiana and Alabama, by nearly 2 cents in Texas, and by about 1 cent in Florida, according to AAA. All of these states are dependent upon oil rigs in the Gulf of Mexico as a major part of their oil supply.
In comparison, gas prices declined overnight in New York, New Jersey, California and Alaska, states that are not directly dependent on the Gulf.
"Prices are more affected down South, while New York is supplied through [New York] Harbor," said Fred Rozell, oil analyst with the Oil Price Information Service.
Rozell said these increases are particularly painful to Mississippi, not just because the price increases are the most dramatic there, but because it's a state where people tend to have less discretionary income.
"I think some of those areas are going to get hit hard again and it's really going to squeeze people," said Rozell.
