AAA: Virginia gas price average sets another new record high

Virginia’s state gas price average for regular unleaded hit a new record high overnight, just two months after breaking a 14-year-old record.

Today:

• the Virginia gas price average is $4.26 – up a penny overnight and up a penny over the old record of $4.25, up 11 cents in the past week, up 32 cents in the past month, and $1.35 higher than one year ago.
• the Virginia diesel average also set a new record high at $5.56 – up a penny overnight, up 7 cents in the past week, up 60 cents in the past month and $2.56 more expensive than this day a year ago.
• the Richmond average remains tied with the all-time record high of $4.25 – flat from yesterday, up 9 cents in a week, up 26 cents in a month and $1.38 from one year ago.
• the Roanoke average today has tied the metro area record high of $4.18 set back in March. Today’s average is up 15 cents in a week, up 32 cents in a week and $1.30 more than a year ago.
• the national average retail price for a gallon of regular, self-service gasoline also set a new record today at $4.43 per gallon – up 2 cents overnight, 16 cents in the past week, 35 cents in the past month, and $1.41 higher than one year ago.

“As long as supplies remains tight, it will be hard for crude oil prices to fall and consumers will in turn face higher prices at the pump,” said Morgan Dean, spokesperson for AAA Mid-Atlantic. “It now costs drivers in the U.S. about $25 more to fill up their gas tank than a year ago.”

Pump prices are on the rise again primarily due to the high cost of crude oil. At the beginning of the week, the price of crude oil slid below $100 per barrel due to global market concern that crude demand will suffer as COVID lockdowns in China remain in place. However, crude prices reversed course Wednesday over growing market worries that Ukrainian and European Union actions against Russian oil-and-natural gas companies could spark retaliation by Russia that leads to more market disruption and uncertainty.

Crude prices rose despite EIA reporting that domestic crude supply increased by 8.5 million bbl to 424.2 million bbl. The current level is approximately 12.5 percent lower than during the first week of May 2021. Pump prices will likely face upward pressure as oil prices stay above $105 per barrel.