Drivers frustrated with rising gas prices - KFVS12 News & Weather Cape Girardeau, Carbondale, Poplar Bluff

Drivers frustrated with rising gas prices

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Carly O'Keefe - bio | email

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(KFVS) -

Gas prices have been on the way up since the New Year, but prices really started to spike just after Valentine's Day. Prices leveled out over the weekend, but drivers say they're still too high.

Winter isn't typically a time when demand for gas rises, but prices have climbed since late January. AAA credits a perfect storm of factors that started with Superstorm Sandy, and tightened supply.

Whatever the reason drivers around here are frustrated that higher prices at the pump are putting a kink in their budgets.

"We've got a van to drive the kids around and it gets really expensive to take everybody where they need to be," said Jim Schmidt of Cape Girardeau.

"It's bad," said Becky Carnell of Jackson. "I don't know why they're up, but every day you go it's higher. For the working class person, it's not good."

When your eyes pop at your grocery bill you can thank high gas prices for that too.

Schnuck's manager Dennis Marchi says each and every item his store sells has to come from somewhere. He says it all comes in by truck. The store pays a special surcharge for those deliveries. Marchi says when gas prices go up, the surcharge goes up too; especially on items in the produce department.

"Ninety-nine percent of that product is coming from California or New Mexico or Mexico this time of year so there's a huge cost of bringing that product in and that's why you see the surge on cost on the retail of it," said Marchi.

If you want to find the cheapest gas prices in your area heartland news has you covered. The Heartland News Gas Buddy can help you fill up without breaking the bank.

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