Massachusetts Hits Five-Dollar-Per-Gallon Gas Ceiling

The common gasoline worth reached $5 per gallon in Massachusetts on Tuesday, whereas nationally, the value was only a smidge decrease at $4.96 per gallon. Each had been all-time excessive costs.

AAA Northeast reported that rising oil prices and better demand for gasoline will hold costs surging for the foreseeable future. Mary Maguire, AAA Northeast’s Director of Legislative and Public Affairs, mentioned the “trajectory upward” will proceed as rising crude oil costs and the battle between Russia and Ukraine “ratchet up costs” on the gasoline pump.

Maguire mentioned the normal “busy journey season” has resulted in “plenty of demand” for gasoline which additionally helps to drive costs greater. She mentioned “demand elevated lots over the Memorial Day Weekend” as folks “pent-up by the pandemic” took to the roadways. Maguire mentioned demand will improve much more when “the Cape will get rocking and rolling” for the Fourth of July vacation.

Maguire mentioned many individuals are “pressured financially” and are “altering their driving habits.” Some are working from house, whereas others are consolidating journeys and searching for the very best offers on gasoline. She recommends motorists use “factors and rewards applications” that may get monetary savings.

Maguire mentioned a “sustained spike in costs” will take a “sizable chunk” out of many individuals’s incomes which may result in “demand destruction,” a everlasting downward shift in demand for gasoline, maybe in favor of electrical automobiles.

The climate may have lots to do with how quickly gasoline costs improve.

“A hurricane can have a significant, main affect on gasoline costs,” Maguire mentioned. Hurricane season runs from June 1 to November 1.

Maguire mentioned costs may stabilize a bit by mid-to-late July “on the finish of the height journey season,” however they might additionally proceed to rise.

AAA Northeast recommends conserving your automobile in good restore, together with the tires correctly inflated to cut back the quantity of gasoline you burn whereas driving.