Little good news at the pump as gas prices continue to rise, analyst says

Gasoline prices are continuing to rise in Pittsburgh and across the nation.

“The national average gas price has now risen for two months straight, tacking on a total of 50 cents per gallon in the last 90 days, which will cost Americans nearly $200 million more at the pump today than back in early January,” said Patrick DeHaan, head of petroleum analysis for GasBuddy.

Pittsburgh gas prices are up 8.7 cents per gallon in the past week to an average of $2.90, according to GasBuddy’s survey of 731 stations. That’s 23.1 cents per gallon higher than a month ago, and 3.5 cents per gallon higher than a year ago.

Prices in Pittsburgh range from $2.67 up to $3.15, a difference of 48 cents per gallon.

The national average is up 4.8 cents per gallon, to $2.74. That’s 27.6 cents per gallon more than a month ago, and 9.3 cents per gallon more than a year ago.

Nationally, prices range from $1.74 up to $5.01, a difference of $3.27, according to GasBuddy.

DeHaan said California and the West Coast are seeing a surge in unexpected refinery outages, leading to extremely tight supply of summer gasoline and causing prices to skyrocket.

“California will soon be home to something not seen in nearly five years — a statewide average of over $4 per gallon, with some of the largest cities there swelling to averages as high as $4.15 per gallon before any relief arrives,” DeHaan said. “It really is going to be ugly this week in the West Coast, and any further issues could lead to more spikes, but for the rest of the country expect the rise to continue for a ninth straight week with little good news on the horizon.”