AAA
The national average for a gallon of regular gasoline jumped nearly 27 cents since last week to $3.25. The conflict in the Middle East has sent crude oil prices higher to the mid $70/barrel range.
The recent increase puts the national average at the same price as it was in early April of 2025. Springtime typically sees higher gas prices as gasoline demand rises and summer-blend gasoline production begins.
The last time the national average made a similar weekly jump was back in March of 2022 during the start of the Russia/Ukraine conflict.
According to new data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA), gasoline demand decreased last week from 8.73 million barrels per day to 8.29 million. Total domestic gasoline supply decreased from 254.8 million barrels to 253.1 million.
Gasoline production increased last week, averaging 9.3 million barrels per day.
At the close of Wednesday’s formal trading session, WTI rose 10 cents to settle at $74.66 a barrel. The EIA reports crude oil inventories increased by 3.5 million barrels from the previous week.
At 439.3 million barrels, U.S. crude oil inventories are about 3% below the five-year average for this time of year.