Gas prices could rise 15 to 30 cents following Saudi attack

Experts warned gas prices will likely rise following recent attacks on Saudi Arabia’s oil supplies.

Consumers should expect prices to increase from 15 to 30 cents per gallon starting Tuesday, Patrick DeHaan, who leads petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, told CBS News. 

“At 6 p.m. tonight, we will start to see tanker trucks fill up and adjust their prices,” DeHaan said. “The first gas stations will be filling up with pricier gasoline later this evening. We could conceivably see price hikes later tonight but that would be the earliest. We expect the first impact to hit the pump tomorrow.”

He also said the West Coast could see slightly greater impacts. {mosads}

Trilby Lundberg, who publishes the Lundberg Survey of U.S. fuel markets, also told CBS that gas prices would probably increase. 

“Right now, we have the first inkling of the oil market’s response to these attacks, and based on what the main benchmarks are doing, we expect the hit to U.S. gasoline prices to be 16 cents,” Lundberg said.

Prices have already begun surging after drone attacks on two Saudi oil facilities. The attacks impacted about 5 percent of global crude output. 

President Trump said in a Monday tweet that the U.S. doesn’t need Middle Eastern oil and gas “because we have done so well with Energy over the last few years.”

He has also said that he was authorizing the use of the U.S.’s emergency oil reserve. 

Energy Secretary Rick Perry on Monday expressed confidence in energy markets after the attack. 

“Despite Iran’s malign efforts we are very confident that the market is resilient and will respond positively,” Perry said in a speech to the International Atomic Energy Agency’s general conference, according to Reuters. 

Houthi rebels in Yemen have claimed responsibility for the attack, although the Trump administration has blamed Iran, which supports the Houthis.