Gas Prices Skyrocket In U.S

Unleaded gasoline ran $3.54 a gallon on average across the U.S. on Wednesday, according to AAA, up 3% from a year ago and about 14% higher than at the start of 2024.

Among the regions that have seen the fastest increases: the Salt Lake City area, where gas stations raised prices by about 65 cents to $3.77 a gallon over the past month. In metropolitan St. Louis, drivers have seen a roughly 51-cent price hike to $3.45 during that period. In Chicagoland, costs are up by roughly 48 cents to $4.08.

The uptick has helped make inflation stickier than expected in the first quarter and weighed on Americans’ outlook on a largely robust U.S. economy. Gasoline and shelter contributed more than 60% of the consumer-price index’s increase in February from a year ago, according to the Labor Department, marking the first month since September that spending at the pump edged higher.

The Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge doesn’t include volatile food and energy costs. Still, rising prices displayed on corner gas stations and highway billboards are constant reminders of economic pressures.

“When the price of gas goes up, everybody feels it,” said Malick, a 36-year-old Missouri native who works in customer-service technology for the auto industry.

Bets by energy investors on Wall Street suggest that the price gains have room to run. The cost of gasoline shipments into New York Harbor next month has jumped 28% since the beginning of the year. That is faster than the average increase of 20% during the same period over the past quarter-century, according to FactSet.

“Even after the recent run up, we still see upside risk” for gas prices,

Bank of Americatold clients in a note recently.