The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported average retail prices for regular grade gasoline at $3.03 a gallon the week of May 17. The average is the first to top $3 a gallon since Oct. 27, 2014.
The national average price is up $1.15 from the same week in 2020. Prices rose 6.7 cents a gallon from the previous week.
EIA stated the price surge was due to disruptions from the Colonial Pipeline shutdown. Average prices in the Lower Atlantic region most affected by the shutdown rose 10 cents a gallon from the previous week to $2.88 a gallon.
“The increased retail price for gasoline in the Lower Atlantic resulted from outages at many gas stations in the region,” EIA stated, “which occurred because of the pipeline disruption that hindered supply and increased purchases of gasoline in response to the station outages.”
Colonial Pipeline restarted operations May 12 after a five-day shutdown. The company reported normal operations restored May 15.
Prices around the country rose as of May 17. The New England region registered prices up 6 cents a gallon from the previous week to $2.93 a gallon. The Central Atlantic region rose 5 cents a gallon to $3.04.
Midwest region prices rose 5 cents a gallon from the previous week to $2.91. The Gulf Coast posted prices 11 cents a gallon higher than the previous week, up to $2.78 a gallon.
