Nation’s average price of gasoline rises sharply. Will jump at the pump be temporary?

Published 7:16 am Monday, January 2, 2023

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

For the first time in two months, the nation’s average price of gasoline rose sharply last week, as extremely cold weather led to many refinery issues, shutting down over a million barrels of refining capacity, pushing wholesale prices up.

Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, said in addition, China’s reopening plans gave markets inspiration that global oil demand would start to recover, as China’s nearly three-year COVID-zero policies appear to be coming to an end.

“While the jump at the pump will likely be temporary, as most refiners get back online after cold-weather related issues, some regions like the Rockies may see more price increases than others as cold-weather shutdowns hit the region fairly hard,” De Haan said.

Subscribe to our free email newsletter

Get the latest news sent to your inbox

“Most areas have seen the bulk of the rise already hit, but should oil continue to rally, more increases could be on the way.”

Average gasoline prices in Texas have risen 21.7 cents per gallon in the last week, averaging $2.82/g Monday, according to GasBuddy’s survey of 13,114 stations in Texas.

Prices in Texas are 8.4 cents per gallon higher than a month ago and stand 5.7 cents per gallon lower than a year ago.

The national average price of diesel has fallen 1.4 cents in the last week and stands at $4.67 per gallon.

According to GasBuddy price reports, the cheapest station in Texas was priced at $2.27/g on Sunday, while the most expensive was $4.17/g, a difference of $1.90/g.

The national average price of gasoline has risen 12.3 cents per gallon in the last week, averaging $3.17/g today.

The national average is down 22.5 cents per gallon from a month ago and stands 9.5 cents per gallon lower than a year ago, according to GasBuddy data compiled from more than 11 million weekly price reports covering over 150,000 gas stations across the country.

Neighboring areas and their current gas prices:

• Midland Odessa – $2.99/g, up 30.2 cents per gallon from last week’s $2.69/g.
• San Antonio – $2.77/g, up 26.8 cents per gallon from last week’s $2.50/g.
• Austin – $2.79/g, up 26.5 cents per gallon from last week’s $2.53/g.

Historical gasoline prices in Texas and the national average going back ten years:

January 2, 2022: $2.88/g (U.S. Average: $3.26/g)
January 2, 2021: $1.93/g (U.S. Average: $2.25/g)
January 2, 2020: $2.27/g (U.S. Average: $2.59/g)
January 2, 2019: $1.94/g (U.S. Average: $2.25/g)
January 2, 2018: $2.25/g (U.S. Average: $2.49/g)
January 2, 2017: $2.13/g (U.S. Average: $2.34/g)
January 2, 2016: $1.74/g (U.S. Average: $1.99/g)
January 2, 2015: $1.99/g (U.S. Average: $2.21/g)
January 2, 2014: $3.13/g (U.S. Average: $3.32/g)
January 2, 2013: $3.11/g (U.S. Average: $3.28/g)