Gasoline prices at the pump station are far from uniform across the U.S., with some states paying a third more than others.
The average gas price currently stands at $3.25 per gallon, a 5.2c increase week-on-week, according to the latest GasBuddy data. Gas Buddy collates more than 11 million individual price reports covering over 150,000 gas stations across the country.
The national average is up 7.5 cents from a month ago and $1.08 per gallon higher than a year ago. The national average price of diesel has risen 10.4 cents in the last week and stands at $3.45 per gallon.
Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis for GasBuddy, told Newsweek how the upward trend could continue.
He says: "Last week saw oil prices advance to their highest in seven years, with a barrel of West Texas Intermediate crude oil surpassing the critical $80-per-barrel level.
"The nation's gas prices were also pushed to their highest since 2014, all on OPEC's decision not to raise production more than it already agreed to in July.
"The OPEC decision caused an immediate reaction in oil prices, and amid what is turning into a global energy crunch, motorists are now spending over $400 million more on gasoline every single day than they were just a year ago.
"The problems continue to relate to a surge in demand as the global economy recovers, combined with deep cuts to production from early in the pandemic."
"If Americans can't slow their appetite for fuels, we've got no place for prices to go but up."
This attitude was echoed by the American Automotive Association (AAA), which described the gas price rises as resulting in "quite the day."
AAA spokesperson Andrew Gross told Newsweek: "The key driver for this recent rise in the price of gas is crude oil, which typically accounts for between 50 percent and 60 percent of the price at the pump.
"And last week's decision by OPEC and its oil-producing allies to not increase production further only exacerbated the upward momentum for crude oil prices."
According to oil field service company Baker Hughes, last week's U.S. rig count rose by five to 533, believed to be more than 264 rigs extra compared with a year ago, while the Canadian rig count rose by two to 167, or 87 more than a year ago.
Which States Are Witnessing The Highest Gas Price Rises?
GasBuddy's latest average regular gas price comparison by State has detailed the difference in gas prices across the U.S., as of Monday, October 11.
Nebraska +0.059
Washington, D.C. +0.029
San Juan +0.025
Washington +0.023
Illinois +0.023
North Dakota +0.020
California +0.015
The states with the highest priced states are California ($4.41), Hawaii ($4.09) and Nevada ($3.87).
The states with the lowest average prices are Oklahoma ($2.80), Mississippi ($2.89) and Texas ($2.89).
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
