Despite concerns, Hurricane Matthew is not expected to have long-term impact on gas supply.
The national average price for regular unleaded gasoline reached $2.26 per gallon on Oct. 10, according to AAA, eight cents more than one month ago and six cents less than one year ago.
Hurricane Matthew caused concerns about gasoline supply, but no refineries were impacted by the path of the storm. Many coastal ports were expected to reopen on Monday, allowing waterborne deliveries of gasoline to continue. And access terminals are expected to be resupplied quickly.
Hawaii continues to have the most expensive gas ($2.84) in the nation followed by California ($2.79). The Central United States has some of the cheapest prices in the country, although prices still increased along with the national over the past week, AAA reported. Arkansas ($2.05), Missouri ($2.07) and Oklahoma ($2.07) currently feature the least expensive gas in the U.S.
It remains to be seen if the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) will alter production in order to influence prices, pushing them higher. OPEC members are scheduled to have a number of meetings before the end of November in order to identify the details of an output agreement.
