Gas prices keep going up and up…and this past week was no different.
The average price of gasoline across western Pennsylvania jumped 11 cents, now averaging $2.91 per gallon, according to AAA East Central’s Gas Price Report.
In Butler, prices increased nine cents since last week, now averaging $2.85 per gallon.
AAA says gas is mostly more expensive this week as refiners make the switch from producing winter-blend gasoline to summer blend, which is more expensive to produce. Most states saw increases from one to three cents, while a few state averages jumped by more than a nickel, including Pennsylvania (+8 cents), according to AAA.
According to the Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) latest report, gasoline stock levels measure at 63.5 million barrels, which is a 6 million year-over-year surplus. That level has the potential to grow considering regional refinery utilization has been steadily increasing since the beginning of March, jumping from 67.7 percent to 79 percent. However, if spring and summer demand rapidly increase, that could chip away at the surplus which would likely cause more expensive pump prices.
Drivers are paying a little bit less for gas today than they were last year on this date- when prices averaging $2.88 per gallon.
The average price of unleaded self-serve gasoline in various areas:
$2.837 Altoona
$2.840 Beaver
$2.957 Bradford
$2.953 Brookville
$2.852 Butler
$2.949 Clarion
$2.939 Du Bois
$2.977 Erie
$2.922 Greensburg
$2.960 Indiana
$2.945 Jeannette
$2.956 Kittanning
$2.913 Latrobe
$2.951 Meadville
$2.969 Mercer
$2.879 New Castle
$2.945 New Kensington
$2.919 Pittsburgh
$2.897 Sharon
$2.876 Uniontown
$2.861 Warren
$2.750 Washington