The price of a gallon of gas in the Portland area hit a new high of $5.59 on Tuesday, up 8 cents from a week ago, as the nationwide average topped $5 for the first time.
Oregon’s average price for a gallon of regular was $5.54, up 8 cents from last week and also a record, and motorists nationwide were paying an average of $5.02.
Gas prices are setting new records nearly every day.
Demand remains high, said AAA Oregon/Idaho spokesperson Marie Dodds, and the climbing prices haven’t deterred people from getting out on the road.
“People seem eager to drive and take summer vacations after staying close to home for two years during the pandemic,” Dodds said.
High gas prices are mainly driven by crude oil costs, now above $120 a barrel. The U.S. and several other countries placed strict sanctions on Russia, one of the world’s largest oil producers, after its invasion of Ukraine earlier this year. Those constraints have driven global oil prices higher.
Oil companies, including those in the U.S., also have not ramped up production to meet a rebound in demand since the start of the pandemic.
Prior to this year, Oregon and national gas prices had peaked in the summer of 2008. Oregon’s $4.29 per gallon record from that year would be about $5.76 today, accounting for inflation.
Gas prices are now above $4 a gallon in all 50 states, and nearly half the country is averaging more than $5 a gallon. California is the only state with gas averaging above $6.
Oregon’s gas prices are sixth-highest in the nation, behind California, Alaska, Nevada, Washington and Illinois.
In Oregon, Curry County’s gas prices remain the highest, this week reaching $5.73 a gallon. Coos, Josephine and Harney counties all follow close behind. Multnomah County is averaging $5.64 a gallon.
—Jayati Ramakrishnan
