U.S. Gasoline Prices Rise To 5-Month High

U.S. gasoline prices rose for the third week in a row, rising $.076 per gallon from a week ago to $3.65 per gallon yesterday, new GasBuddy data showed, reaching the highest level since November 2022.

The national average for a gallon of gasoline is $.221 cents more than it was a month ago, according to GasBuddy data.

“With oil prices touching their highest level of 2023 at nearly $83 per barrel, the national average price of gasoline has continued to inch higher, with 45 of the nation’s 50 states seeing prices rise over the last week. While the rising price of oil is likely the largest factor in rising gas prices, seasonal impacts continue to also exert pressure on prices,” GasBuddy’s head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy said in a note on Monday.

“With the Northeast making the final step in the transition to summer gasoline this week, states in that region should expect a sharp rise in gasoline prices over the next week or two. Every other region has already seen the final step in the transition occur, so while other areas will see prices continue to slowly rise, the Northeast is likely to see a pretty hefty jump of 15-40 cents per gallon soon. Oil prices remain a wildcard, but we’re likely a few weeks away from seeing the national average peak. Whether it hits $4 per gallon or not is still perhaps a 50/50 chance.”

Crude oil prices hit their highest point all year last week—above the $80 threshold—in response to OPEC+’s agreement to cut an additional 1.66 million bpd off its production starting in May. On top of that catalyst, U.S. gasoline demand was up 1.4% last week.

By Julianne Geiger for Oilprice.com

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