Gasoline prices rose on average a nickle across Oklahoma and the U.S. in the past week.
It’s costing Oklahoma drivers an average of $2.42 per gallon every time they pull up to the pumps to fill up, according to the latest fuel gauge report from AAA Oklahoma. That compares to last week’s average of $2.37. A year ago, motorists in Oklahoma paid an average of $2.08 per gallon.
Despite the jump in prices, Oklahoma is still among the ten states with the cheapest gasoline in the country. The state ranks 8th cheapest. Missouri has the lowest average at $2.31 a gallon followed by Arkansas, Alabama, Louisiana, Texas, and South Carolina. Ohio is 10th at $2.42 a gallon.
Oklahoma City drivers are paying an average of $2.40 a gallon, 7 cents more than last week’s average. In Tulsa, the average is up to $2.42, a penny more than a week ago. Lawton continues having the cheapest gasoline with an average of $2.30 a gallon. But prices also jumped 8 cents on average in the past week.
Nationwide this week, the average is $2.61 and six states saw double-digit increases including New Mexico where the average rose by 12-cents a gallon. The higher prices might have forced drivers to spend less on gasoline as the Energy Information Administration reported demand dropped to 9.3 million barrels a day and gasoline stocks dipped by 1.7 million barrels a day on the week.
“Right now we are seeing the market starting to purge winter-blend gasoline to make room for summer-blend,” said Jeanette Casselano, AAA spokesperson. “The jump in gas prices is just the beginning for the season. AAA forecasts the national gas price average will be as much as $2.70/gallon this spring and summer.”
