The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported national average gasoline prices rising from levels ending 2021.
Average regular gasoline prices nationwide reached $3.295 a gallon as of Jan. 10, EIA reported, up 2 cents a gallon from the last week of 2021. Average regular gas prices are up 98 cents a gallon from the same week a year ago.
Average diesel prices also are climbing. EIA reported average nationwide diesel prices at $3.65 a gallon, up more than 4 cents a gallon from the last week of 2021 and up 99 cents a gallon from the same week a year ago.
AAA reported the price moves were driven primarily by the price surge in crude oil, which is closing in on $80 a barrel. Events such as the violence in Kazakstan are fueling the crude oil rise recently.
“Since the global price for oil accounts for nearly half of what consumers pay at the pump,” AAA stated, “higher oil costs will usually result in higher gasoline costs.”
Typically, pump prices decline as gas demand drops and total stocks rise, AAA stated, but continued growth in the price of crude oil has helped to elevate pump prices.
“Markets, in general, don’t like uncertainty and volatility, and the oil market is no exception,” said Andrew Gross, AAA spokesperson. “The oil production cuts by Kazakhstan demonstrate that in times of tight supply, it doesn’t take much to put upward pressure on the overall price of oil.”
