Photo: Pexels
Consumers who grew accustomed to the gas prices featured this previous holiday season should get ready for an unpleasant surprise. The national average price for a gallon of gas currently sits at $2.28.
Unfortunately, this could just be the beginning, as frigid temperatures and fluctuating gas stocks could send the average price of gas climbing even higher.
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Gas is currently 4 cents more than it was a month ago. The good news is that it is 30 cents less than gas cost in Feb. 2018.
Still, that gas price is nearly identical to how much gas cost per gallon two years ago. Where gas prices actually decreased at the beginning of 2017, they are on the rise in 2019.
Photo: Pexels
The recent polar vortex that affected a large portion of the country is partly to blame. This weather phenomenon led consumers to get gas early, causing demand to rise.
The cold weather could have also led to some unplanned maintenance at refineries. Maintenance at these refineries, both planned and unplanned, has caused gas stocks to fluctuate, even with the price of crude oil remaining both consistent and cheap.
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Gas currently costs less than $2 per gallon in a total of eight states. Arkansas and Mississippi have the lowest average gas price at $1.96 per gallon.
Unsurprisingly, California and Hawaii have the most expensive gas prices. Gas costs $3.26 per gallon in both states.
Utah was one of the few states to actually see lower gas prices in February, with gas prices falling 6 cents per gallon. Michigan, on the other hand, had the price of gas increase 13 cents.
Gas still remains relatively cheap across the country. Still, it seems the rapid decline in the price of gas late last year was just too good to last.
News Source: AAA
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