By Tom Latek
Kentucky Today
Fighting in the Middle East continues to impact gas prices, according to Gas Buddy, a crowd-sourced app and website that tracks the price at the pump across the country.
The nation’s average price of gasoline has risen 23.2 cents over the last week standing at $3.68 per gallon, based on data compiled from more than 12 million individual price reports covering over 150,000 gas stations across the country. The national average is up 80 cents from a month ago and is 66.1 cents per gallon higher than a year ago. The national average price of diesel rose 34.0 cents in the last week and stands at $4.951 per gallon.
In Kentucky, the average price for regular was $3.37 per gallon, Monday morning, which is 81 cents higher than a month ago.
“Consumers continue to feel the sting of rising oil, gasoline, and diesel costs as geopolitical tensions in the Middle East remain elevated, pushing gasoline prices to their highest levels in years while diesel could soon approach the $5-per-gallon mark nationally,” said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy.
“Until we see a meaningful resumption of oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz, upward pressure on fuel prices is likely to persist. At the same time, seasonal forces are beginning to intensify as several regions complete the transition to summer gasoline, creating a double headwind that could continue driving pump prices higher in the weeks ahead.”
Oil prices have remained highly reactive to new developments after the U.S. attacked Iran and targeted Kharg Island over the weekend. As the situation evolves and oil-consuming nations feel the impact of the loss of roughly 20 million barrels per day moving through the Strait of Hormuz, pressure has mounted on both Iran and the United States to ease the disruption.
Some ships have successfully transited the Strait, and for now, the market appears less concerned about a broader escalation of the conflict.
In Monday trading, WTI crude fell $3.07 to $95.64 per barrel, though it remains up more than $20 from last Monday’s $72.41 level. Brent crude slipped 54 cents to $102.60 per barrel, still well above the $79.29 level a week ago.