South Carolina – Gas prices in South Carolina have taken a noticeable leap upwards, marking an 11.8-cent increase per gallon over the last week. GasBuddy’s most recent survey of 3,028 gas stations in the state shows that the average price at the pump is now $3.22 per gallon as of Monday.
The state’s fuel costs have gone up significantly compared to both last month and this time last year. Gas prices are 22.8 cents higher now than they were a month ago and 12.5 cents higher than this time last year. The survey found a wide range of prices. On Sunday, the least expensive gallon cost $2.75 and the most expensive one cost $3.99.
It’s not just South Carolina where gas prices are going up; this is happening all over the country. This week, the average price of a gallon of gas in the US went up by 4.4 cents, making the national average $3.44 per gallon. This is an increase of 18.7 cents from last month and 1.6 cents from the same time last year.
Patrick De Haan, GasBuddy‘s head of petroleum analysis, offered insights into the factors driving this surge.
“Most Americans continued to see average gasoline prices march higher last week. The reason is the season: gasoline demand is rising as more Americans are getting out, combined with the summer gasoline switchover, which is well underway, and continued refinery maintenance,” Patrick De Haan said. “The madness should slow down in the next few weeks as we’ve seen positive data that refinery output is starting to increase, a sign that the peak of maintenance season could be behind us.”
De Haan additionally highlighted some good news, especially for drivers in the Midwest. For example, he said that the BP plant in Whiting, Indiana, is back online after an electrical problem in early February. Gas prices are likely to go down after this refinery, which handles 440,000 barrels of oil every day, gets back to normal operations.
Read also: Gas prices up by 9.4 cents in South Carolina, yet lower than last year’s average
Even though prices are going up right now, De Haan said that the “fever may break soon,” which is a positive sign for the near future. Additionally, he mentioned encouraging news for diesel consumers: warmer-than-average temperatures have reduced the demand for heating oil, hinting at a potential decrease in diesel prices below $4 per gallon.
Based on GasBuddy’s huge data collection efforts—which include looking at over 11 million weekly price reports from over 150,000 gas stations across the country—this study gives a complete and accurate picture of how fuel prices work in the United States.
