By DAVID KOENIG and JULIE WALKER, Associated Press
NEW YORK – The national average price of a gallon of gasoline has reached $ 5 for the first time.
The AAA car club said the average price on Saturday was a fraction of a penny above $ 5.00. Motorists in some parts of the country, especially California, pay a lot more.
The national average price has risen 19 cents just last week and is up $ 1.93 from this time last year.
The high cost is affecting people who need their vehicles to make a living.
It was bad enough for taxi driver Joseph Pierre when it cost him $ 25 to fill his tank. He now pays $ 40 or $ 45.
“I’m losing money because some passengers I catch don’t care, they don’t tip you,” Pierre said Saturday while pumping gas at a BP station in Brooklyn.
Katisha Thompson, who paid $ 79 for a 13-gallon premium at the same station, said the price “is becoming overwhelming.”
“It’s a lot, especially when you’re trying to feed a family,” he said. “And it’s not just gas. It’s groceries, everything is going up.”
Americans still burn less gasoline than before the pandemic, with many people still working from home instead of commuting. But there are early indications that higher prices could also be affecting drivers’ habits.
The amount of fuel consumed last week was down 3% from the previous week and 6% from that time last year, according to preliminary data from the Oil Price Information Service.
There are several reasons for the rise in gasoline prices.
Americans tend to drive more from Memorial Day, so demand is rising. World oil prices are rising, exacerbated by sanctions against Russia, a major oil producer, over its war against Ukraine. And there are limits to refining capacity in the United States because some refineries closed during the pandemic.
Add it all up and the cost of filling up is draining money from Americans facing the highest inflation rate in 40 years.
California has the highest average price, at $ 6.43, according to AAA. The lowest average is Mississippi, at $ 4.52.
While this is the first time the $ 5 barrier has been broken, it is still not a record when inflation is taken into account. Gasoline hit a high of $ 4.11 a gallon in July 2008, which would be about $ 5.40 a gallon today.
___
Koenig reported from Dallas.