Gas prices surge in Pa., costs could rise even more
The ongoing conflict with Iran has driven gas prices to nearly $4 per gallon in the state and some analysts are predicting they’ll go even higher as summer. approaches.
Staff and wire reports
Gas prices surged again Wednesday, climbing to just shy of $4 a gallon across Southwestern Pennsylvania — a fresh hit for motorists already bracing for higher costs.
Lynda Lambert, a spokesperson for AAA East Central, said the spike is being driven by the escalating war in Iran, which has rattled global oil markets and pushed fuel prices higher.
“We have been seeing gas prices rise steadily since Feb. 28 when the Iran conflict began,” she told Trib-Live on Tuesday. “Crude oil is a global commodity, and when anything happens in one part of the world, especially in the Middle East, it impacts the entire world.”
About one-fifth of the world’s oil supply passes through the Strait of Hormuz off Iran’s coast, making it one of the most critical locations in the global energy system, Lambert said.
“That’s very impactful, as you can imagine,” she said. “Some tankers are sitting there full of oil but haven’t been able to get through.”
Before the war began last month, crude oil was averaging between $65 and $70 per barrel, Lambert said. Now, prices have surged to between $95 and $100 a barrel.
Crude oil prices have surged about 40% since the combined U.S. and Israeli airstrikes on Iran began on Feb. 28, reaching their highest levels since 2022, trading above $100 a barrel. The highest price of crude oil Lambert could recall was $147 per barrel in July 2008.
Lambert said crude oil accounts for between 50% and 60% of the cost of a gallon of gas.
“When crude oil prices go up, gasoline prices follow suit,” she said. “Most of the jumps that we’re seeing is because of what’s going on in the Middle East.”
Two other factors are also driving the rise in gas prices, Lambert said: increased demand from spring break travel and the switch to more expensive summer-blend fuel.
Spring break season “always pushes prices higher” due to demand going up during travel, she said.
As for summer blend gas, Lambert said the refineries put additives in the gas to “keep evaporation down in the summer months.” Because this gas is more expensive to produce, she said it usually adds around 5 to 7 cents onto the cost of a gallon, but prices can vary by region.
“They put in additives because the heat can have a negative impact on gasoline in your tank,” she said.
Price specifics
In the Pittsburgh metro region, the current average gas price for regular fuel is at $3.843, according to AAA, up 8 cents from Monday’s average of $3.757. A week ago, the average was $3.755.
Also in Pittsburgh, AAA said the month ago average gas price for regular fuel was $3.196, and the year ago average was $3.453. The highest recorded average price for regular fuel in the Pittsburgh metro area was $5.054 on June 12, 2022.
As of Wednesday, Allegheny, Fayette, Washington and Westmoreland counties rank among the Pennsylvania counties with the highest average gas prices, according to AAA. In the metro area, Fayette County recorded the highest average gas prices.
In Southwestern Pennsylvania, the average gas prices per county, according to AAA, are as follows (listed highest to lowest):
• Fayette at $3.871
• Beaver at $3.853
• Butler at $3.851
• Allegheny at $3.845
• Westmoreland at $3.839
• Washington $3.828
• Greene at $3.814
• Armstrong at $3.766
• Indiana at $3.753
• Somerset at $3.683
• Cambria at $3.652 In Pennsylvania, Philadelphia had the highest average gas prices on Wednesday at $3.903.
Pennsylvania’s highest statewide recorded average price by AAA for regular fuel was $5.071 on June 12, 2022. According to AAA, Pennsylvania ranks among the top 10 states for most expensive gasoline markets.
The average gas prices for regular fuel in Pennsylvania overall vs. nationally overall, according to AAA, are as follows: • Current average is $3.800 in Pennsylvania, compared to $3.842 nationally
• Tuesday’s average was $3.758 in Pennsylvania, compared to $3.790 nationally
• Week ago average is $3.664 in Pennsylvania, compared to $3.578 nationally
• Month ago average is $3.108 in Pennsylvania, compared to $2.923 nationally
• Year ago average is $3.215 in Pennsylvania, compared to $3.078 nationally
‘Wait and see’
Lambert said it’s impossible to predict the future of gas prices.
“Every state is different,” she said. “It depends on how long this conflict lasts. This is the time of year when we start to see gas prices go up, even without something like the Iranian situation.”
So far, this is the most expensive spring break AAA has seen since 2022 in terms of gas prices, according to Lambert.
While crude oil accounts for most of the cost of a gallon of gas, Lambert said taxes, marketing costs and distribution costs — which vary by state — also come into play.
“If the national average reaches $4 a gallon, it would be the first time since August 2022,” in the wake of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine that started in February 2022, she said.
The national average currently stands at $3.842 per gallon of regular fuel.
“It’s a wait-and-see issue,” she said. “Everybody wants us to make projections, and we just can’t do it — it’s too soon to know the impact at the pump long term.”
President Donald Trump last week ordered the release of 172 million barrels of oil from the United States’ Strategic Petroleum Reserve to help offset rising prices.
