Gem State pumps see 20-cent jumps
DEVIN WEEKS | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 4 years, 3 months AGO
A customer fills up at Prime Gas and Grocery at Sherman Avenue and Seventh Street on Tuesday. According to AAA, Idaho experienced the biggest monthly gas price increase in the U.S. with a 20-cent jump. Coeur d'Alene prices are averaging $2.35 per gallon while Boise is at $2.55 per gallon.
DEVIN WEEKS/Press
Devin Weeks is a third-generation North Idaho resident. She holds an associate degree in journalism from North Idaho College and a bachelor's in communication arts from Lewis-Clark State College Coeur d'Alene. Devin embarked on her journalism career at the Coeur d'Alene Press in 2013. She worked weekends for several years, covering a wide variety of events and issues throughout Kootenai County. Devin now mainly covers K-12 education and the city of Post Falls. She enjoys delivering daily chuckles through the Ghastly Groaner and loves highlighting local people in the Fast Five segment that runs in CoeurVoice. Devin lives in Post Falls with her husband and their three eccentric and very needy cats. | February 18, 2021 1:00 AM
Idaho drivers might do double-takes the next time they fill up their tanks.
According to AAA, the Gem State has experienced the biggest monthly increase in the U.S. with a 20-cent jump in gas prices.
The rising cost of crude oil continues to press upward on the price of fuel. Crude oil prices for 2021 could top the highest price in 2020 as early as this week.
Crude oil accounts for 50% of the price at the pump. The West Texas Intermediate has been steadily climbing since the beginning of the year, despite relatively low fuel demand.
Right now, a barrel of crude oil is trading near $60 a barrel, up $12 a barrel from Jan. 1.
AAA Idaho spokesman Matthew Conde said in a Tuesday news release that "there is strong market optimism that COVID-19 vaccines will help restore economic activity and bring some demand for fuel back online."
But right now demand is modest, at just 7.7 million barrels per day.
"If we see higher crude oil prices over a sustained period of time coupled with a spike in gasoline demand as the warm weather returns, that could pack a serious punch for the family budget in the weeks ahead," Conde said.
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