After a considerable length of reprieve, gas prices are back on the rise in Western Kentucky.
According to AAA East Central’s Gas Price Report for this week, average prices for unleaded per gallon around here are $3.00 — nine cents higher than the last seven days.
As of Wednesday afternoon, it’s $3.09 in Princeton, $2.89 to $3.05 in Hopkinsville, $2.95 to $3.17 in Todd County, $3.09 to $3.29 in Trigg County, and it’s $2.99 to $3.37 in Lyon County.
Average prices a week ago were $2.91 per gallon, and average prices a year ago were $2.94/gallon.
Self-serve gasoline in Bowling Green and Paducah is $2.99, and in Owensboro and Elizabethtown it’s $2.95. It’s back up to $3.15 in Louisville.
The national average for a gallon also rose five cents in the past week, up to $3.32. Wednesday’s average is 17 cents more than a month ago, and a penny more than a year ago.
Per AAA’s assessment, shorter days and winter weather are lowering gasoline demand, but the price of oil rose because worries of a global economic recession continue to ease and fluctuate after unnecessary panic.
The cost of oil in America accounts for more than half of gasoline’s cost at the pump.
According to data from the Energy Information Administration, West Texas Intermediate increased $1.47 per share and settled at $79.86. A lower American dollar also helped to push crude prices higher at the end of last week, while China increased quotas for oil purchases to begin 2023.
The market rally could be a sign that crude oil demand may be more robust than anticipated, at least for this quarter.
