PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — The average price of gas in Oregon is up to $5 per gallon again after prices spiked by nearly 40 cents in the last week.
After a summer of declining prices, AAA reports that statewide prices jumped from $4.64 per gallon to $5 per gallon in the last seven days. Prices are also up 20.3 cents per gallon in the Portland-Vancouver area this week, with an average price of $4.98 per gallon, GasBuddy.com petroleum analyst Patrick De Haan noted.
“One of the longest gas price declines on record has finally come to an end after 14 weeks, with gas prices shooting up in several regions amidst myriad refinery issues from the West Coast to the Great Lakes and in-between,” De Haan said. “I don’t know that I’ve ever seen a wider gamut of price behaviors coast to coast in my career.”
De Haan said that the spike is caused by a number of national issues, including refinery disruptions in the Western U.S. and Hurricane Ian in the Southeast.
“A slew of unexpected refinery disruptions, including fires and routine maintenance, have seemingly all happened in a short span of time, causing wholesale gas prices to spike in areas of the West Coast, Great Lakes and Plains states – and some of those areas could see prices spike another 25 to 75 cents per gallon, or more, until issues are worked out,” De Haan said. “In addition, as Tropical Storm Ian nears the U.S. coast, some refiners could see limited disruption.”
The average price of gas in Portland is currently 8.4 cents per gallon higher than it was a month ago, and $1.23 per gallon more than it was a year ago. According to GasBuddy, the cheapest station in Portland on Sept. 26 was $4.29 per gallon. The most expensive station was $5.49 per gallon.