RICHMOND, Va. -- If you drove by a gas station this week in Virginia and did a double take, you're not the only one.
The average gas price in Virginia is $3.53 per gallon, up four cents overnight and 22 cents in a week, according to AAA Mid-Atlantic.
The average gas price in Richmond is $3.50 per gallon, up four cents overnight and 29 cents in a week.
The national average sits at around $3.92 per gallon.
"Pump prices go up like a rocket and come down like a feather," Morgan Dean, a spokesperson with AAA Mid-Atlantic Region, said. "That's sometimes what we see. We're on the flip side of that now where pump prices are going up quite substantially."
The sharp spike in prices is due to OPEC+'s announcement about cutting oil production by 2 million barrels a day, AAA reported.
"They want gas prices to be roughly around $3 a gallon, at least in Virginia," University of Richmond Professor Tom Arnold said. "What they're going to do is try to anticipate the demand going forward, if they think there's going to be a slowdown, they're going to cut their production now. If they think there's going to be an expansion, they'll increase production."
Arnold said that announcement in itself can cause an economic slowdown, since the spike in prices may cause people to slow their buying. Pair that with the uncertainty of oil production in Russia and increased holiday travel demand in the next few months.
"It's almost as if OPEC is saying we're cutting oil production because we're thinking there's going to be a slowdown, kind of perpetuates the slowdown," Arnold said.
The domino effect will impact you directly, whether you're filling up your gas tank or going to the grocery store.
"We'll see almost immediately, in stuff like milk, eggs, stuff that's perishable, that has to be delivered and sold very quickly, we'll see that impact right away," Arnold said.
Arnold said it's difficult to know when prices may decline, especially because the price hike is happening at a volatile political time in the U.S.
"If the slowdown that they're anticipating does happen, prices will probably start drifting down unfortunately after December," Arnold said. "Any real government resolution or tactics are not going to be figured out until four weeks from now, when these midterm elections go through, and we find out who's in charge of what entities in the government and what policies can potentially go through."
Dean said the economic slowdown could bring crude oil prices down, which would in turn bring pump prices down.
"Predicting where gas prices are going to go for the near term or for the future is very, very hard, and that crystal ball has never been more foggy than it is right now, so it's hard to say," Dean said.
This is a developing story, so anyone with more information can email newstips@wtvr.com to send a tip.
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