Gas prices were already high, but overnight they went up 11 cents, approaching the $4 per-gallon average nationwide.
The national average for a gallon of regular gasoline rose to $3.84 on Friday, up from $3.73 on Thursday, according to AAA. That comes after another 11-cent increase between Monday and Thursday.
Prices averaged $3.57 a week ago and $3.42 a month ago, the organization said.
Concerns over Russia’s invasion Ukraine have put pressure on global oil markets and affected U.S. gas prices, even though the country buys very little oil from Russia.
Gas prices topping $4 per gallon by Memorial Day had been predicted prior to Russia’s attack on Ukraine. Already, the average price per gallon in California has surpassed $5 at $5.01, the most expensive market in the U.S., AAA said.
The average price for a gallon of regular gasoline in San Francisco hit the $5 mark Thursday – the first time a U.S. city has hit an average that high, said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at fuel-savings app GasBuddy.
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Several other states have already surpassed the average $4 per gallon, according to AAA:
- Hawaii ($4.66)
- Oregon ($4.28)
- Nevada ($4.29)
- Washington ($4.22)
- Alaska ($4.18)
- Illinois ($4.10)
- New York ($4.05)
- Pennsylvania ($4)
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A national average of $4 per gallon could happen “in the next week or two,” De Haan said, during a question-and-answer session on Facebook Live.
GasBuddy, which through its app provides real-time gas price information for more than 150,000 stations nationwide, has the national average a bit lower than AAA, at $3.78 per gallon, De Haan said, but that’s up 20 cents from a week ago.
And De Haan has seen no sign of price gouging on the part of station owners.
“I can see that wholesale gas prices are up 12 cents a gallon today,” he said. “So that is how we can tell you that prices are going to continue to go up. … I would say that probably 99.999% of stations are simply passing along the price increase.”
Consumers may be able to withstand higher gas prices, for while at least, until the national average reaches $4.50 or $5, he said. “Because of us coming out of the pandemic, Americans still have pent-up demand for getting out,” he said. As mask mandates are lifted, “that may embolden more people to travel,” he said.
Follow Mike Snider on Twitter: @mikesnider.
