Drivers in Pennsylvania and across the nation are paying more at the pump as crude oil prices surge.
The average price for a gallon of regular gasoline in the U.S. has climbed to $3.842 as of Wednesday, according to AAA. That’s about $0.26 more than it was last week, and nearly a full dollar more than the averages from last month when it was $2.923. Experts have attributed the increases to the ongoing war in Iran, which has disrupted the global flow of oil and subsequently raised the cost per barrel. Spring break travel, AAA noted, has piled onto the problem.
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Pennsylvania gas stations are posting prices similar to the national average. The average cost of a gallon of regular gasoline was $3.800 as of Wednesday — up from $3.108 a month ago — and metro area drivers are paying almost another dime. AAA put the price of gas in the Philadelphia region at $3.893. Fuel is a bit more affordable across the river in New Jersey, where gas is averaging $3.746 per gallon.
Those rates aren’t high enough to crack the top 10 most expensive gas markets in America. That distinction belongs to California, Washington, Hawaii, Nevada, Oregon, Arizona, Alaska, Illinois, Florida and Michigan. But Pennsylvania isn’t far behind. The state has the 13th-highest gas prices in the U.S.
Though fuel costs have been steadily climbing since Israel and the United States bombed Iran in late February, they are still much lower than the highest recorded national average. The price of a gallon of regular gas spiked at $5.016 in June 2022, mere months after Russia invaded the Ukraine.
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