Gas prices fellow another six cents per gallon this week in Virginia, the 15th straight week of decline, even as the national average ticked up three cents, according to GasBuddy.
The average for a gallon of regular unleaded is at $3.33 on Monday, down 30.6 cents per gallon over the past month, but still 33.0 cents per gallon higher than a year ago.
The national average on Monday is at $3.67 a gallon.
The reason for the push higher nationally, according to Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, is refinery issues in the Midwest and West.
“I don’t know that I’ve ever seen a wider gamut of price behaviors coast to coast in my career,” De Haan said. “A slew of unexpected refinery disruptions, including fires and routine maintenance, have seemingly all happened in a short span of time, causing wholesale gas prices to spike in areas of the West Coast, Great Lakes and Plains states – and some of those areas could see prices spike another 25-75 cents per gallon or more until issues are worked out.”
The impact of Tropical Storm Ian could impact prices on the East Coast this week, De Haan said.
“Hopefully, disruptions will be very limited due to Ian, but there remain many factors driving prices both up and down across the country,” De Haan said.
GasBuddy data is accessible at prices.GasBuddy.com.
Support AFP
Share
Chris Graham
