Here’s what determines the price customers pay at the pump

CHARLOTTE — Prices are surging at the pump, reaching record-high levels across the country.

According to AAA, the national average is the highest it’s ever been at $4.17 a gallon.

Now, experts warn people could soon pay even more after President Joe Biden announced a ban on all Russian oil imports. It’s a move the president said will deal another powerful blow to President Vladimir Putin, as Russia’s onslaught in Ukraine intensifies.

ALSO READ: Skyrocketing gas prices impact local rideshare, delivery drivers

Channel 9′s Dave Faherty has been looking into what this means for North Carolinians, their wallet and local gas station owners.

There are four factors that make up the cost of a gallon of gas -- the cost of crude oil, the cost of refining the crude oil, distributing and marketing the oil, along with federal and state taxes that are applied to each gallon of gas sold.

Local stores said they’re not the ones making the money over the higher gas prices. Channel 9 visited a half-dozen gas stations Tuesday and they said when people buy gas, they’re only making about $.10 a gallon.

Prices have continued to climb nearly $2 a gallon since the beginning of 2021.

“They don’t like how high it is. I remind them that it’s not me that makes the prices,” cashier Carla Thompson said.

CHARLOTTE GAS PRICES

Tyler Cloninger’s family owns the Country Market and said prices are set by their fuel supplier. Most family-run businesses said they make the majority of their profit on what they sell inside the store, not at the pumps.

“We were making more when it was $2 a gallon then we are now. The credit cards is what eats it up because it’s a percentage of the dollar amount, not a percentage of the gallon,” Cloninger said.

In Burke County at the Corner Fuel Mart, they refill their fuel tanks once a week. They closely watch competitors’ prices before deciding on their own.

“We’re not making hardly nothing out of it. It’s probably $.02, $.03, $.04 a gallon. Somebody is making it somewhere else,” manager Lenny Stuart said.

ALSO READ: How much tax does your state charge on gasoline? What makes up the price of a gallon?

In western Catawba County, Jagruti Patel owns C&S Mart. She also said she is only making about $.10 a gallon on the fuel there. Already she’s seen a drop in customers and the ones who are showing up are buying less gas.

“You can see the road is so quiet from the price going up. The customers are not coming out,” Patel said.

All of the businesses said they sometimes lose money when the prices fall because they can’t recoup the higher costs on the fuel they already purchased. They all expect the prices to continue to climb this spring.

(WATCH BELOW: Average price for gallon of gas hits record high)