The average price for gas in Bend has joined the likes of California, Washington state, Nevada and Hawaii. It has reached more than $5 per gallon for the first time ever, with the Oregon statewide average not far behind.
The average for regular unleaded in Bend was $5.01 as of Monday, according to according to AAA. It also eclipsed $5 on Sunday, barely.
Monday’s price was 17 cents higher than a week ago. Prices have increased $1.62 since the same day a year ago.
Oregon’s average price for regular was $5 when rounded up Monday. Officially, it was $4.999, according to AAA, an all-time high for the state.
Diesel continued to skyrocket, with the average reaching $5.69 in Bend and $5.64 statewide.
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Here are more average prices for various metros in Oregon, according to AAA. All are records, rounded to the nearest penny:
- Albany: $4.85
- Corvallis: $4.81
- Eugene-Springfield: $5.00
- Grants Pass: $5.20
- Medford-Ashford: $5.09
- Pendleton: $4.75
- Portland: $5.06
- Salem: $4.92
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California was two cents away from another major milestone Monday. The average price for regular there was almost $6 per gallon. Diesel in California was already $6.55 on average.
Washington on Sunday became the fourth U.S. state to hit $5 per gallon on average, joining California, Nevada and Hawaii.
Nationally, the average price of regular wa $4.48 with diesel at $5.57.
“The high cost of oil, the key ingredient in gasoline, is driving these high pump prices for consumers,” AAA spokesperson Andrew Gross said in a statement. “Even the annual seasonal demand dip for gasoline during the lull between spring break and Memorial Day, which would normally help lower prices, is having no effect this year.”
“While the increases may start to slow in the days ahead as pump prices catch up to oil, there isn’t much reason to be optimistic that we’ll see a plunge any time soon,” Patrick De Haan, GasBuddy’s head of petroleum analysis, said in a statement.
Georgia, Kansas and Oklahoma are the only states that haven’t reached $4 per gallon on average, AAA said.
