Rising gas prices show 'no signs of slowing down'
Gas prices are rising — they are up a dime over the last week in Massachusetts, tied for the third-greatest weekly increase in the country — and analysts at AAA said the prices at the pump "show no signs of slowing down."
The average price of gas in Massachusetts is $2.79 per gallon of regular unleaded, AAA said, which is nine cents lower than the national average of $2.88 but four cents more expensive than a year ago the same week.
"Compared to the beginning of this year, motorists have definitely felt an increasing squeeze on their wallets at the pump," AAA spokesperson Jeanette Casselano said. "These increases mean Americans are having to work more to afford to fill-up their gas tanks."
AAA said it took 5.76 minutes of work for the average American to afford a gallon of gas in January and that today the same worker could afford a gallon of gas after 7.3 minutes of work, a 22 percent increase. In the second week of January, the average price of gas in the Bay State was $2.44.
And with 17 states within a dime of $3 per gallon, Casselano said: "Americans can expect the national average to likely surpass 2018's high of $2.97 set during Memorial Day weekend."
AAA said the increase could partly be attributed to the U.S. State Department's recent announcement that it would stop issuing waivers for countries to import oil from Iran, increasing crude oil prices.
In Massachusetts, AAA said it found a 52-cent range in the price of gas across different stations, from a low of $2.57 per gallon to a high of $3.09 per gallon.
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