Retail gas prices are fairly stable on the West Coast this week while the national average has increased for 12 of the past 14 days.
For the week, the national average for regular unleaded gains four cents to $2.26 a gallon. The Oregon average remains at $2.52, says AAA Oregon/Idaho Public Affairs Director Marie Dodds.
“Hurricane Matthew and seasonal refinery work put upward pressure on pump prices in the Central and Eastern U.S.,” she said. “The relative geographic isolation of the West Coast helped to isolate this region from these price hikes.”
Over the weekend, Florida, Georgia and South Carolina saw the arrival of Hurricane Matthew, and residents in those areas expressed significant concerns about the availability of gasoline leading up to and following the storm. Ports and fuel terminals in all three states were closed ahead of the storm. Fortunately, there were no refineries threatened by the path of the hurricane, and by Friday afternoon many ports in southern Florida were already cleared by the Coast Guard and open to receive vessels. Many coastal ports are expected to reopen today, allowing waterborne deliveries of gasoline to continue. Barring any delays due to flooding and power outages, tanker trucks should be able to access terminals and quickly resupply stations across the impacted areas.
The West Coast continues to be the most expensive market for gasoline, including the only six states where drivers are paying $2.50 or more on average: Hawaii ($2.84), California ($2.79) Washington ($2.72), Alaska ($2.64), Oregon ($2.52) and Nevada ($2.50). Oregon is fifth most expensive for the seventh week in a row.
