Gasoline ‘unlikely’ to get cheaper anytime soon

Published 1:51 pm Tuesday, January 31, 2023

Average prices for gas in Mississippi have climbed 12 cents per gallon over the past week, averaging $3.15 Monday. The data comes from GasBuddy’s survey of 2,014 stations across the state.

Prices are 38.9 cents higher per gallon than one month ago and 17.5 cents per gallon higher than one year ago. The least expensive station in Mississippi was $2.63 Sunday, while the most expensive was $3.65 per gallon — a difference of $1.02.

The national average has risen 9.7 cents per gallon in the past week, averaging $3.49 Monday. That number is 33.3 cents higher per gallon from one month ago and 14.1 cents per gallon higher than one year ago, according to data from more than 11 million weekly price reports from more than 150,000 gas stations nationwide.

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Going back 10 years, prices in Mississippi and the U.S. on Jan. 30 averaged:

2022 — $2.98/gallon, MS ($3.34/gallon, US)

2021 — $2.09 ($2.43)

2020 — $2.15 ($2.49)

2019 — $1.96 ($2.27)

2018 — $2.36 ($2.59)

2017 — $2.07 ($2.27)

2016 — $1.60 ($1.80)

2015 — $1.88 ($2.04)

2014 — $3.07 ($3.27)

2013 — $3.21 ($3.40)

“The national average price of gasoline has risen for the fifth straight week as retailers pass along the rise in wholesale gasoline prices due to continued challenges: refinery utilization that still hasn’t fully recovered from December’s cold weather, and refinery maintenance season that’s just around the corner,” said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy. “There appears to be little good news on the gas price front, with prices unlikely to turn around any time soon. Because of the surge in prices last spring, many refineries that had planned maintenance deferred maintenance until 2023. With the can kicked to this year, we may have similar challenges producing enough refined products to meet demand, especially with the European Union cutting off refined products from Russia starting February 5.”

GasBuddy’s survey updates 288 times every day from the most diverse list of sources covering nearly 150,000 stations nationwide. GasBuddy data is accessible at http://prices.GasBuddy.com.