What’s Behind The Latest Jump In New York and Pennsylvania Gas Prices
As I happily embarked on my weekly trip to camp in the Endless Mountains Of Pennsylvania, just as I crossed over the border from New York into Pennsylvania, the brightly lit convenience store gas price sign alerted me to a bit of a shock.
For the past few years, Pennsylvania gas prices have been anywhere from 10 to 25 cents per gallon higher than they are in New York State. Last week when I left Pennsylvania to return home, the average price for unleaded gas was between $3.35 and $3.39 per gallon.
Last Friday (October 8th) as I passed the same convenience store, the price was $3.50. Most, if not all other places that sell gas around the Towanda, Pennsylvania area also went up 10 to 15 cents per gallon unleaded. I thought that maybe it was just a jump in price for a few counties in Northeast Pennsylvania until I returned home to find that gas stations in the Southern Tier also had raised prices to around $3.35 a gallon.
Earlier last week, I filled up at $3.19 a gallon (before my 10 cent discount) and now that same convenience store is charging $3.29. That is an exception since I've seen most others charging between $3.35 to $3.39 a gallon for unleaded gas. I've mentioned this before and will mention it again, having a discount card is worth it. 10 cent per gallon savings is better than paying full price, especially since the price keeps going up.
According to AAA, gas prices have risen an average of 8 cents per gallon across the nation due to the surging price of crude oil. We are paying approximately $1.09 more per gallon than we were last year at this time, although you have to take into account that we were deep in the pandemic with fewer people on the road. AAA reports that we are paying about 63 cents more per gallon than we were in 2019, before the pandemic.
But if there is a silver lining, there are 13 other states with higher prices than New York. Pennsylvania gas prices are lower than 11 states. Not something to celebrate as you can tell.
[via AAA]