Gas prices jump across state jump in past week

Average retail gasoline prices in Nebraska have risen 15.1 cents per gallon in the past week, averaging $2.13 per gallon on Sunday, according to GasBuddy’s daily survey of 1,150 gas outlets in Nebraska. This compares with the national average that has increased 12.6 cents per gallon in the last week to $2.17 per gallon, according to gasoline price website GasBuddy.com.

Including the change in gas prices in Nebraska during the past week, prices Sunday were $1.05 per gallon lower than the same day one year ago and are 11 cents per gallon higher than a month ago. The national average has increased 1.7 cents per gallon during the last month and stands $1.10 per gallon lower than this day one year ago.

In Sidney, the lowest priced gas jumped by a quarter last week, rising from $1.61 to $1.86 at Western Convenience. Thrifty’s prices also leaped to $1.89. Many of the other gas stations in the area are all hovering around the $2 mark.

“This past week gasoline prices saw the largest weekly incline since July 2013,” said Patrick DeHaan, senior petroleum analyst with GasBuddy. “While the pace of increases will slow in the week ahead, we’re looking at continued gas price increases over the next few weeks. Oil prices have risen, contributing to the higher prices, but also worrisome are the refinery strikes initiated over the last week that have oil companies scrambling to keep refineries online.

“Just yesterday, more strikes hit refineries in the Midwest, and while the strikes are not currently a contributor to higher gasoline prices, should there come a time when the strikes cause less production of refined fuels, motorists can expect spikes,” DeHaan added. “But while gasoline prices have rebounded, diesel consumers have not seen the massive spikes that their gasoline counterparts have. In fact, diesel prices will likely continue to slowly drift lower.”

In the past week, the percentage of gas stations selling under $2 per gallon has shrunk by a large margin: a week ago, more than half of all gas stations were under $2 per gallon, but now just 27 percent percent are selling under $2 per gallon. Similarly, the number of stations charging over $2.25 per gallon has risen from 17 percent a week ago to 31 percent currently.

As of Sunday night, some of the largest increases across the U.S. in the last week: Danville, Ill.: up 31.6 cents per gallon, Bloomington/Normal, Ill.: up 27.4 cents Cape Girardeau, Mo.: up 26.7 cents, Toledo, Ohio: up 25.6 cents, Huntington, W. Va.: up 25.2 cents and Wichita, Kan.: up 24.9 cents.