MEDIA RELEASE

As millions of Americans take to the road to celebrate the holidays, many are being forced to dig deeper in their wallets. Nationally, gas prices have seen their largest December rise in six years and are likely to continue rising through the holidays as oil producing countries agreed to cut production, boosting oil and gasoline prices.

“When The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries announced production cuts November 30, we knew we were likely to see gasoline prices rise almost immediately. There’s never a good time to see gas prices rise, but ahead of the holidays just seems like the worst,” said Patrick DeHaan, senior petroleum analyst at GasBuddy. “Oil prices spiked after OPEC’s production cut agreement was announced, pushing gasoline prices higher in 41 states. At a time of year Americans are busy opening their wallets to shop for gifts, they’ll have to dig deeper to fill their tanks, too.”

Currently the national average for a gallon of gas is $2.25 and continuing to rise. Motorists watching expenses won’t like comparing prices to a year ago, when the national average fell to $1.99 per gallon with 69% of stations at $2 or less. Over half of U.S. states have seen prices rise double digits in the last month, with some cities seeing even larger increases, making a tank of gas $5-$10 more expensive than just a month ago:

Cities
Parkersburg, WV: 36 cents
Ashland, KY: 34 cents
Steubenville, OH: 32 cents
Huntington, WV: 31 cents
Champaign, IL: 31 cents
Orlando, FL: 30 cents
Tampa, FL: 27 cents

States
Illinois: 22 cents
Florida: 22 cents
Indiana: 21 cents
Michigan: 19 cents
Ohio: 19 cents
Oklahoma: 19 cents
Wisconsin: 19 cents

In a sign of how far reaching the rising prices have been, today finds 86% of gas stations nationwide priced over $2 per gallon compared to 61% a month ago. In 2014, gasoline prices plunged in December, ending over 50 cents a gallon lower than when the month started. Since 2011, gas prices have increased during December just once, in 2013, when the national average rose a nickel. The 5-year average for the month is a decline of 12 cents.

While the rest of the year could bring more price increases, motorists are unlikely to see any return of record high prices any time soon, but they are likely to see their spending on gasoline rise by $120-$180 or more in 2017 due to less oil supply from oil producers, leading to higher oil prices affecting what they pay at the pump.

For a look at what lays ahead at the pump, GasBuddy will be releasing its Annual Fuel Outlook in January.

For Hawaii Island gas prices and trends visit — www.hawaii247.com/gas