Gas was over $7 a gallon Wednesday at The Village service station on East Valley Road in Montecito.
By CASEY HARPER
THE CENTER SQUARE SENIOR REPORTER
(The Center Square) — Gas prices rose yet again Wednesday, setting another record high and adding to a string of consecutive record-high days.
According to the American Automobile Association, the national average price for a gallon of unleaded gas is at $4.96, a four-cent jump from the day before and nearly a $2 jump from the same time last year, when the average price was $3.06 per gallon. GasBuddy put the national average at $4.97 a gallon.
“Rough morning as the national average sets a new record for the 10th straight day at $4.97/gal,” Patrick De Haan at GasBuddy wrote on Twitter Wednesday morning. “Americans (are) now spending over $700 million more per day on gasoline versus a year ago.”
Gas prices have soared even in the past week. The national average price a week ago came in at $4.67 per gallon, and a month ago the average price was $4.32 per gallon.
On Wednesday, California led the nation with an average price of $6.39 a gallon, according to AAA.
In Santa Barbara County on Wednesday, the average price was $6.31 a gallon, but regular gas was as high as $7.10 a gallon at The Village service station on East Valley Road in Montecito.
Elsewhere, the average price per gallon was $6.38 in Ventura County, $6.41 in Los Angeles County and $6.56 in San Luis Obispo County.
All 50 states are at least about $4.50 per gallon with many much higher. Several states have surpassed $5 per gallon and a handful of states, including Rhode Island, Vermont, Maryland, Delaware, and Wisconsin, are on the verge of hitting that same $5 threshold.
Diesel gasoline also broke yet another record Wednesday as well with a national average price of $5.72.
Gas prices have been a political pain point for President Joe Biden, who has seen prices roughly double since he took office.
President Biden has pointed to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which has disrupted global oil markets. Critics point to Biden’s restrictions on oil drilling and pipeline development as well as a spike in federal spending and the money supply, which has helped fuel the highest inflation in decades.
“Joe Biden’s economy is historic alright,” U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., wrote on Twitter, referring to the Biden administration’s claims of a “historic” post-COVID economic recovery. “Historic inflation, historic gas prices, historic supply chain crises. Thanks, Joe.”
Casey Harper works at The Center Square’s Washington, D.C., bureau.
News-Press Managing Editor Dave contributed to this report.
