According to the latest Lundberg survey of average gasoline prices across the U.S., released Sunday, Americans today are paying 22 cents more per gallon—at $2.80 on average—than they were just three weeks ago.
But for motorists here in Baton Rouge, the report has silver lining: The average price here is the lowest in the country, at $2.32.
The average price per gallon, which has jumped 35 cents since April 10, is the highest seen by the survey since late November, but is still nearly 93 cents lower than a year ago. Rises in crude oil prices over the latest three-week period were not driven by changes in oil supplies, survey publisher Trilby Lundberg tells Reuters. Rather, she says, they were caused by a recent weakening of the dollar against key foreign currencies. Prices across the country should remain relatively low for the coming summer driving season, she says.
“The chances are high that there will be small or negligible price rises from here in the national average, assuming no crude oil price spike in the near future,” Lundberg says.
The price increase seen across the nation recently would have been substantially smaller if not for significant hikes in California, the state with the highest gasoline consumption, and the rest of the West Coast, Lundberg says. In California, the average price rose 53 cents over the past three weeks to $3.76 per gallon. Los Angeles has the highest average gas price of any U.S. city currently, at $3.95.
