Gas prices reach ‘unprecedented’ levels in Thurston County and WA state on Monday
Gas prices across the state of Washington reached all-time highs on Monday morning, with the state average being $4.449 per gallon for regular gas, according to AAA.
The story is even worse in Thurston County, with Monday’s average gas price at $4.465 and some stations charging $4.79 or more throughout the county. Surrounding counties are seeing even higher averages.
All across the United States people are seeing higher gas prices, with the national average at $4.065. The last time the national average was above $4 was in 2008 at $4.114, the highest ever been recorded.
That same year was the last time Washington set a record, with gas going for $4.35 per gallon.
The Thurston Regional Planning Council keeps track of yearly state gas price trends using data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. According to the website, since data for Washington has been available, gas prices have been consistently higher than the U.S. as a whole. Since 1994, gas prices in the state have steadily risen, with major highs and lows about every five years.
According to sources GasBuddy and AAA, the spike in gas prices is a direct result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Oil markets rely heavily on Russian oil exports, making up 12% of the country’s global trade.
Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis with GasBuddy, called the prices across the U.S. unprecedented.
“As we lose a major global producer under the weight of deserving bipartisan sanctions for invading a sovereign country, the cost is high,” De Haan said in a press release. “Americans will be feeling the pain of the rise in prices for quite some time, with little good news foreseen.”
De Haan said people should expect prices to continue to rise as demand increases and supply stays limited. The national average may start pushing toward $4.50 per gallon, he predicted.
This story was originally published March 7, 2022 at 11:35 AM.
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