The national average price for a gallon of regular gasoline climbed nearly 5 cents over the past week to $4.48, reaching its highest level on record for this time of year, according to AAA.
The national average stood at $4.4825 per gallon Wednesday, up from $4.4386 a week ago and $4.0991 a month ago. A year ago, the national average was $3.1634 per gallon.
AAA said gasoline prices typically decline with the start of autumn, but lingering volatility in the Strait of Hormuz and high crude oil prices are continuing to push prices at the pump higher.
September is also on track to set a new monthly record. The national average so far this month is $4.30 per gallon, compared with the previous September record of $3.83 set in 2023, according to AAA.
New data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration showed gasoline demand increased from 8.79 million barrels per day to 8.84 million barrels per day last week. Total domestic gasoline supplies declined from 207.7 million barrels to 206 million barrels, while gasoline production fell slightly from 9.64 million barrels to 9.59 million barrels per day.
West Texas Intermediate crude oil rose $1.64 Wednesday to settle at $92.16 per barrel. U.S. crude oil inventories increased by 3 million barrels to 426.4 million barrels, 2% above the five-year average, according to the EIA.
California had the nation’s highest average gasoline price at $6.23 per gallon, followed by Hawaii at $5.57 and Washington at $5.54. Texas had the lowest average at $3.95, followed by Indiana at $3.96 and Mississippi at $3.99.
Meanwhile, the national average cost of electricity at a public electric vehicle charging station remained unchanged at 42 cents per kilowatt-hour.
New Jersey was among the 10 most expensive states for public EV charging, with an average price of 45 cents per kilowatt-hour, according to AAA.
