By ROB MANNING/Oregon Public Broadcasting
If you’ve filled up your car recently, this may not be news to you: The average price of a gallon of gas in Oregon has gone up a lot recently.
After 14 consecutive weeks of prices falling at the pump, they spiked the past week, more sharply in Oregon than in any state in the country according to the American Automobile Association. The AAA analysis found the average gas price at Oregon pumps went up 50 cents per gallon.
The price increases are driven by supply constraints with several West Coast refineries offline for maintenance, according to AAA.
“Multiple refineries in the Los Angeles area and a refinery in Washington State are experiencing either planned or unplanned refinery work which could last several more days. This has put a significant crimp in supplies and sent pump prices soaring in this region. In addition, the Olympic pipeline in Washington is due for maintenance, perhaps as early as this week,” said Marie Dodds, public affairs director for AAA Oregon/Idaho, in a statement.
Oregon’s average fuel price is $5.14 per gallon as of the last week in September. That figure reflects a recent increase, but it’s not as high as it was back in June when gas was averaging $5.55 in the state.
However, Oregon is further above the national average for gas prices now, than it was in June. The current national average is $3.74 per gallon — $1.39 below Oregon’s average. In June, AAA found the average gas price across the country was $5.02 — just 53 cents below the average cost of gas in Oregon.
Gasoline in the U.S. is more expensive in the West right now. Oregon drivers pay the third-highest price for gas in the country, behind California and Hawaii. In order, Nevada, Washington, Alaska and Idaho are the states with the next most expensive gas in the country.
