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Friday, Mar. 29, 2024

Holiday gas prices highest since 2014

VW independent/submitted information

Motorists hitting the road to celebrate the July 4 holiday will be feeling more pinched than last year, shelling out an average of $2.90 per gallon, the highest Independence Day prices since 2014, when the national average hit $3.66 per gallon, according to GasBuddy.

Locally, prices on Friday range from $2.56 a gallon at Murphy USA to $2.75 at the Shell station on South Washington Street.

Making holiday travel sourer this year is that a price jump is looming. After five straight weeks of prices dropping, gasoline prices are likely to increase again ahead of July 4 as oil prices surged to $73 per barrel on Wednesday, the highest since 2014.

The State Department ordered buyers to curb their oil purchases from Iran by November. In addition, OPEC’s smaller than expected oil production increase last week fueled speculation that global inventories will continue to drop, and a government report showed U.S. oil inventories dropped three times as much as expected as total petroleum exports from the U.S. hit a new record high.

The difference may not seem significant given that current gas prices are below the peak of $2.98 per gallon hit in May, but over the first four days of July, gas purchases will cost motorists $1.02 billion more than last year. Even with high gas prices, however, most motorists aren’t likely to curtail their travel during the most popular summer holiday, due to its appeal and rich tradition celebrating the nation’s birthday.

The top fear of travelers is overpaying for gasoline, according to GasBuddy’s 2018 Summer Travel Survey. For motorists traveling out of state, GasBuddy urges motorists to check prices before crossing a state line.

POSTED: 06/29/18 at 7:29 am. FILED UNDER: News