To ease the burden of price fluctuations, local vendor Jackie McLeod shelled out $300 in gas vouchers Monday to Fairhope resident Kathy Justiss.

McLeod, who owns the Gift Horse restaurant in downtown Foley, held a contest for the free gas, which opened for entry in July, to generate business.

“We came to eat dinner for my daughter’s birthday, and I was talking about how much I hate getting gas, so my daughter entered my name into the contest,” Justiss said. “It’s due to (my daughter) Katie that I won. It truly is a blessing.”

After ending the contest Oct. 1, staff counted through over 1,000 entries, McLeod said.

“Everybody needs gas,” McLeod said. “We’ve done the contest several times over the years. The prizes are different, like a condo on the beach for four days. We’ve done the gas several times, and it’s popular.”

The average price for gas in Alabama sat at $3.33 as of Monday, after rising a little more than eight cents the previous week. The national average came in at $3.53 earlier this week, jumping more than 5 cents since last week, according to a weekly report from the Energy Department.

The fluctuation prices can be attributed to speculative investing and shipment and a globally volatile market according to Patrick DeHaan, a senior petroleum analyst for the gas-tracking website Gasbuddy.com.

“I think there are a lot of speculators pouring back into the market. It seems like there’s always something new, whether it be good or bad news,” DeHaan said in a phone interview. “A lot of speculation is that good news from Europe will essentially help improve demand. If Greece can tackle their issues, if Europe can stay on positive trends, countries helping each other out will drive demand higher.”

Refineries around the world are shipping more gas to other countries because demand is higher, and the depletion of supply may also be causing the price jumps, according to DeHaan. As supply decreases in the U.S., the demand rises and prices continue to climb.

“The supply of gas in this country is certainly lower than last year,” DeHaan said. “Refineries continue to export product we could use in this country to other countries for more profit, so it’s a tighter supply. A higher amount of supply could elp ease prices, but it’s being shipped to other countries. If there’s a lot of something, it certainly would reduce the price.”

The average gas price in Alabama in mid-October last year was 65 cents less than the current average, while the national average for gas was $2.88 around this time last year, also 65 cents less, as reported by the Energy Department.

“The market is very volatile. We can see it switch quickly in a very fragile economic state. I think we’ll continue to see this volatility,” DeHaan said. “That’s why we see this seesaw up and down. Investors one day, feeling optimistic, and the next day they pull out. The whole game here is buying low and selling high. Crude oil prices aren’t set by any one person.”

Although minor fluctuations may continue, consumers shouldn’t expect any major jumps until next summer, DeHaan said

"I think nationally the average price will stay between $3.35 to $3.65 for the rest of the year. I don't foresee the prices going much higher," DeHaan said. "I don't see this rally continuing. We could see a reversal in the next few weeks, which highlights the volatility that we've been seeing."