AAA
WASHINGTON, DC – A recent refinery issue has caused a surge in gas prices ahead of Labor Day weekend.
The national average for a gallon of regular gasoline went up more than 7 cents this past week to $3.21 mainly due to flooding at BP Whiting Refinery in Indiana. The largest refinery in the Midwest shut down operations for several days following a severe thunderstorm.
As a result, states in the Great Lakes region saw an increase in gas prices, but they may get some relief soon now that the refinery is back online.
Overall, summer gas prices have remained steady and should trend downward as the fall season begins. But the incident in Whiting underscores the futility of predicting gas prices.
Mother Nature and geopolitical events can suddenly and unexpectedly impact fuel prices.
Today’s National Average: $3.210
• One Week Ago: $3.137
• One Month Ago: $3.143
• One Year Ago: $3.361
The state average is slightly higher from last week at $2.874 and is up just over three cents per gallon from a month ago.
• Today’s State Average: $2.874
• One Week Ago: $2.831
• One Month Ago: $2.848
• One Year Ago: $3.064
Here are the average prices around the area.
• Reno County: $2.591
• McPherson County: $2.692
• Rice County: $2.767
• Stafford County: $2.806
• Harvey County: $2.861
• Kingman County: $2.892
• Sedgwick County: $2.907
• Pratt County: $2.922
Averages are for regular grade gasoline.