BUFFALO, N.Y. — It used to only cost Samantha Schwarz around $20 to fill her gas tank.
"Now that barely gets just over half, so I can definitely feel the price going up and it hurting my wallet," Schwarz said.
A lot of people in Western New York are feeling that right now.
It's primarily because of the crisis in Ukraine that put Russia under tough economic sanctions. Russia is one of the world's top oil producers, and it's threatening to cut off their supply.
"The market's reacted, oil prices shot up, and in return gas prices went up," said Elizabeth Carey, with AAA of Western & Central New York. "Oil prices today are about $110 per barrel and up. In August, they were $30 a barrel."
There's another reason for rising costs too, according to Natalie Simpson, an associate professor in the department of management at the University at Buffalo.
"It's logistically a little more difficult to supply us gasoline," Simpson said.
At places like Delta Sonic, gas is on the cheaper side at $3.63 a gallon.
"That's why I always come (to Delta Sonic). Their prices are reasonable," Dwayne Littleton said.
Similar prices include a Depew Tops charging $3.59, or a Hamburg BJ's charging $3.69.
However, several Speedway locations across the region have prices as high $4.65 for premium and $4.19 for unleaded. That's how much drivers on Grand Island are paying for diesel.
Littleton knows many people who are already facing financial troubles from COVID.
"They're worrying about education and child care, medical expenses. Just by the increase in gas, it's going to cause some tension," Littleton said.
On Thursday morning, the Go Gas Outlet downtown was charging $3.54.
"Retailers will buy gasoline they got at a certain price. They know that their next batch is going to be higher. When are they going to change their prices to reflect that? There's that kind of noise," Simpson said.
Exactly what happened over at Go Gas. By Thursday afternoon, prices rose to $3.84.
Meanwhile, the state attorney general's office is asking anyone who sees price gouging to report it. You can do so by clicking here.
The International Energy Agency is also working to release 60 million barrels of oil from other countries, 30 million of which would come to the states.