Gas Prices Rise as Summer Driving Season Nears

The national average price for a gallon of regular gasoline rose 6.1 cents in the past week to $2.287. The most common price is $2.099, and the average difference between the highest and lowest prices is $1.013. One year ago a gallon of regular gas averaged $2.75 in the United States.

According to GasBuddy, no state still sports an average price below $2 a gallon. The five states with the lowest average prices are Mississippi ($2.043), South Carolina ($2.053), Louisiana ($2.059), Arkansas ($2.060) and Oklahoma ($2.061). Note that California ($2.802), Hawaii ($2.685), Washington ($2.582) and Alaska ($2.540) are the only states with posted average prices above $2.50 a gallon.

The five states seeing the largest week-over-week increases were Ohio (up 13.3 cents), Michigan (13.1 cents), Indiana (11.4 cents), Minnesota (11.2 cents) and Nebraska (up 9.0 cents).

GasBuddy noted:

While gasoline prices have increased over 60 cents from their low in February, there may be a peak hit in the next few weeks as refiners finish remaining maintenance and crank up production. GasBuddy expects the national average be $2.29/gallon on Memorial Day and peak in the $2.30s in early June before declining and spending much of the summer in the low $2 per gallon range.

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The five metro areas where gas is cheapest are Tucson, Ariz. ($1.98 a gallon); Lubbock, Texas ($1.985); Corpus Christi, Texas ($1.993); San Antonio, Texas ($1.996); and Spartanburg, S.C. ($2.00). The country’s most expensive gas is selling for $2.968 a gallon in San Francisco. Of the 20 cities where gas prices are highest, 17 are in California.

Among U.S. gas stations, a full 90% are selling gas for $2.00 or more while 51% are selling gas for $2.25 to $2.49 a gallon and 100% are selling gas for more than $1.75 a gallon.