Average Gas Prices Up 40 Cents From Last Week
You know it’s bad when they use the word skyrocket.
AAA Massachusetts also cited “global supply fears” as it reported that the average gas price in Massachusetts is up 40 cents from last week ($2.91), and suddenly sits at $3.31 per gallon. Today’s price is 41 cents higher than a month ago ($2.90) and 32 cents higher than at this time last year ($2.99).
Drivers are paying significantly more to fuel up since the United States and Israel launched attacks on Iran a week ago, which has in turn led to broader conflicts in the Middle East and elevated geopolitical uncertainty.
AAA cited oil production disruptions across the Middle East as contributing to rising oil prices.
“As cargo ships remain at a standstill at the critical Strait of Hormuz passageway, storage depots across the region have started to fill up,” AAA said. “Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar and other oil producers have subsequently dialed back production since there are few places for newly pumped oil to go.”
The rising prices and the uncertainties of a new war come in the leadup to this year’s elections, where power in Washington is again up for grabs and voters are looking for relief from an assortment of rising costs.
AAA said gas prices spiked by their largest amounts ever in some markets while in others the increases were the biggest since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022. There was significant debate in 2022 about suspending the state gas tax to provide relief though the measure did not pass. Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance spokesman Paul Craney told the News Service that his group “fully supports” suspending the gas tax now to provide relief.
