Gas prices rose to the highest level in more than seven years last week on the heels of the U.S. oil benchmark topping $90 per barrel for the first time since 2014.
The national average for a gallon of gas rose to more than $3.42 a gallon Friday, according to AAA, surpassing the prior high-water mark from November. Friday’s price means consumers are now paying the most at the pump since Sept. 10, 2014, AAA data shows.
A separate survey by the website Gasbuddy.com showed gas prices in Chattanooga remained 35 cents a gallon below the U.S. average. Nonetheless, the $3.07 per gallon average for regular gas among the 170 stations surveyed by Gasbuddy.com was the highest since 2014 with the exception of one week in October when gas prices locally averaged more than $3.10 per gallon, according to GasBuddy figures.
Prices in Chattanooga are 9.3 cents per gallon higher than a month ago and stand 98.2 cents per gallon higher than a year ago.
“Gas prices saw their sharpest rise in months last week as oil surged to $93 per barrel on continued concerns over Russia invading Ukraine and that there won’t be enough supply to meet demand come this summer,” Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, said in a report Monday. “With the national average at its highest level since 2014, the news is grim: motorists should expect even more price increases, with the larger jumps coming later this spring as a confluence of seasonal factors and the potential flare up in geopolitical tensions.”
– Compiled by Dave Flessner