Drivers will likely pay a little more at the pump heading into the holiday weekend.
AAA reports the national average price for a gallon of regular gas climbed a few cents over the past week to $2.94.
As of Feb. 12, the national average stands at $2.944. That’s up from $2.891 one week ago and $2.796 one month ago. Still, prices remain lower than this time last year, when the national average was $3.149.
AAA said new data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration shows gasoline demand increased last week from 8.15 million barrels per day to 8.30 million. Total domestic gasoline supply also rose, climbing from 257.9 million barrels to 259.1 million.
Gasoline production increased as well, averaging 9.1 million barrels per day last week.
Oil prices also moved higher. At the close of Wednesday’s formal trading session, West Texas Intermediate crude rose 67 cents to settle at $64.63 per barrel. The EIA reported crude oil inventories increased by 8.5 million barrels from the previous week. At 428.8 million barrels, U.S. crude inventories sit about 3% below the five-year average for this time of year.
California continues to lead the nation with the highest average gas price at $4.54 per gallon, followed by Hawaii at $4.39 and Washington at $4.08.
On the other end of the spectrum, Oklahoma posts the lowest average at $2.34 per gallon. Arkansas and Kansas follow at $2.48.
Electric vehicle charging costs remain steady. The national average price per kilowatt hour at a public EV charging station holds at 38 cents.
West Virginia reports the highest average public charging cost at 52 cents per kilowatt hour, while Kansas posts the lowest at 25 cents.
AAA encourages drivers to use its TripTik Travel planner to find current gas and EV charging prices along their route.
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