Gas prices are creeping back up, Valley residents.
In Maricopa County, a gallon of gas costs $3.68 on average — 63 cents per gallon higher than what Glendale was six short weeks ago, according to the AAA website.
Four factors are contributing to an uptick at the pump, said Hitendra Chaturvedi, supply chain expert at W. P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University.
Spring break and better weather, a recent announcement Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries is cutting its oil production, refinery maintenance and retailers switching to more expensive summer blends of gas Chaturvedi said.
In the late 1990s, Phoenix retailers started using special motor fuel to comply with the state’s environmental standards, said Kevin Allen, associate director of the Weights and Measures Division of the Arizona Department of Agriculture.
The program — cleaner burning gasoline — represents “special gasoline formulations” required to be sold in certain areas of Arizona due to air quality regulations. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency requires the special fuel as part of the “air quality non-attainment” state implementation plan.
“The good news is (gas is going up at a slower rate) than in 2023 and 2022,” Chaturvedi said.
Chaturvedi is right.
One year ago, Arizona’s average gas price was $3.75 per gallon for unleaded gas, on average, the AAA website stated. The current average is $3.58, according to AAA.
Glendale’s current average for unleaded gas is $3.70 while Peoria is a bit higher at $3.77 per gallon, AAA stated on its website.
A year ago, gas in both cities was a few cents cheaper than $4 per gallon, the AAA website stated.
On Sunday, OPEC announced oil producers such as Saudi Arabia and Russia plan to make voluntary cuts to their output, the Associated Press reported.
“Oil prices have kind of responded to that, said Nicole Cervi, an economist with Wells Fargo.
Arizona motorists now are paying 19 cents more per gallon than the national average, the AAA website stated.
Demand for gas nationwide is also up.
“According to new data from the Energy Information Administration, gas demand jumped from 8.47 to 9.01 million (barrels per day) last week,” the website said. “Meanwhile, total domestic gasoline stocks tightened by 4.5 million bbl to 239.7 million bbl. Growing gas demand, amid tighter supply, has pushed pump prices higher.”
Brent Ruffner Lead News Reporter | Daily Independent
Journalism has fascinated Brent Ruffner since junior high school.
Since 2001, his stories have been published in newspapers from the Albuquerque to the Arizona and he has always had a knack for making sure his facts are right and his words are to the point.
Growing up, Brent watched as sports reporters covered his beloved Phoenix Suns, a team he followed since Charles Barkley first arrived in Phoenix via trade in 1992. Sports reporting was a dream back then.
But after gaining some writing experience, Brent found a love for news instead of covering different types of sports. In 2008, he moved to New Mexico and covered crime, schools and city beats all while holding elected officials accountable.
He covered stories that ranged from a DEA drug bust gone bad to an award-winning story on school lunches.
In Arizona, Brent was a freelance writer who covered everything from the importance of citrus in the state to Esteban owning a store in downtown Prescott.
Brent is a 2007 graduate of the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University.
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