Below is a chart that shows how gasoline prices (both NYMEX RBOB gasoline and the retail price in the Northeast) acted into and out of Hurricane Irene last year.
Note the post hurricane spike in prices, like we are seeing today with RBOB, which was followed by a slow, steady decline.
Note also that while the trade commodity price can be quite volatile, the consumer doesn’t really see that volatility as prices at the pump generally follow on a one to two week lag.
Irene was a very different event than Sandy, so the effects could be more pronounced this time.
