New Year's Gasoline Prices Highest in 3 Years

Gasoline prices for New Year’s are the highest they’ve been since 2014 and have reached $2.34 per gallon for the week ending Jan. 2, according to AAA.

The average price moved higher nearly every day for the last 37 days, which was due to market reactions to the OPEC deal last fall, according to a report from AAA on Monday.

The average price increased five cents during the week and is 34 cents higher than 2016.

Retail prices will hinge on whether cartel countries successfully implement production cuts. However, retail averages are likely to increase leading up to the summer driving season when spring seasonal refinery maintenance gets underway, according to AAA.

Federal data offers similar findings, as the national price of regular unleaded increased 0.349 cents to $2.377 for the week ending Jan. 2 when compared to last year, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

The nation’s top five least expensive markets include South Carolina ($2.10), Arizona ($2.12), Alabama ($2.13), Tennessee ($2.13) and Mississippi ($2.14).

The biggest weekly price increases are reflected in Pennsylvania (10 cents), Missouri (9 cents), Florida (9 cents), Arkansas (8 cents) and South Dakota (8 cents).

Meanwhile, the weekly average price of diesel increased 0.046 cents to $2.586. Diesel is now 0.375 cents higher than a year ago, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.