Higher Oil Prices, Consumption, Pushing Fuel Prices Up

Fuel prices across the Northwest, and across the nation continue to march higher. And you can thank a one two combination of higher oil prices, and as Dan McTeague with GasBuddy.com pointed out an elevated consumer demand here in the U.S.

“We used more fuel in the previous week than in at any point in the past. We broke a record of just over 9.8 million barrels of gasoline a day. That’s pretty significant given that it’s being done in April rather than in August.”

McTeague said with oil prices hovering above $63 a barrel, you can expect oil production from the Dakotas will increase, but he notes that won’t necessarily help American consumers.

“Well the production of oil is going to move higher, the question is what kind of oil. Not every refinery is positioned to take light crude oil, which is why we sell a lot more to other countries. Particularly, oil and gasoline to places like Latin America.”

As far as current diesel prices are concerned, the national average increased three cents this week to $3.03 a gallon, with Washington’s average moving higher by three cents a gallon as well to $3.38, and Oregon’s rate held steady at $3.28 a gallon.

As far as local lows are concerned: