Pump prices expected to continue to rise as spring arrives.
As of April 9, pump prices have held steady at their highest national average price of the year – $2.66 – for one week, AAA reported.
“Gas prices are only a penny away from topping the $2.67 high of 2017,” said Jeanette Casselano, AAA spokesperson. “The price is likely to increase as spring brings warmer weather and the switchover to summer blend gasoline, but hopefully we will only see mild jumps in coming weeks.”
According to AAA, gas prices have moved higher over the past week following the Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) latest weekly report that showed gasoline inventories dropped by 1.1 million bbl. Additionally, demand for gasoline remains robust at 9.2 million b/d and is more in line with demand levels at the same time in 2017.
The largest yearly increases have been seen by California ($3.52, +54 cents) and Hawaii ($3.52, +47 cents), which are also the two most expensive states for gas.
Meanwhile, gas price averages are especially volatile across the Great Lakes and Central states, AAA pointed out, with a 31-cent difference between the highest gas prices in Illinois ($2.70) to the least expensive in Missouri ($2.39).