Not just Oklahoma motorists are facing growing gasoline prices but across the rest of the U.S. too.
Auto club AAA reports the national average over the weekend was $2.21 per gallon for regular unleaded, up 5 cents from a week ago and a dime more than one month earlier.
In Oklahoma, the average reached $1.94 for the weekend, up six cents from last week and 14 cents higher than a month ago.
AAA calls crude the culprit because benchmark crude futures in the U.S. and globally are the highest they have been in months. While the increased crude prices, reaching more than $48 a barrel in the U.S. and $51 for Brent crude in London are certainly welcome news for the oil and gas industry, drivers are finding that prices at the pump have also risen as a result.
Crude prices have gone up with the arrival of COVID-19 vaccines, giving up to drivers that perhaps restrictions will be eased allowing them to hit the road more in the coming months. Increased travel will bring higher gasoline prices.
The crude needed to produce gasoline “is climbing due to the vaccination availability and promise that distribution is building toward being more widely available in 2021,” said Jeanette Casselano, a spokeswoman for AAA.
Oklahoma City drivers pay an average $1.93 per gallon, four cents higher than last week and 15 cents more than one month earlier. In Tulsa, the average price at the pump is $1.91, 8 cents more than in the past week and 14 cents higher than last month.
Harmon County in the southwest has the highest average of $2.30 per gallon while Comanche County, home to Lawton and Fort Sill has the lowest at $1.82.
Oklahoma’s $1.94 average compares to $2 in Kansas, $2.23 in Colorado, $2.08 in New Mexico, $1.93 in Texas, $1.94 in Arkansas and $1.92 in Missouri.