Missouri’s gas average rose 19.1 cents during the past week to $1.86 per gallon yesterday, according to price tracker GasBuddy.com’s daily survey of 3,940 filling stations statewide.
The increase pushed the Show-Me State near the national average, which moved up 11.9 cents to $1.93 per gallon yesterday, according to a news release.
Missouri’s gas prices on Sunday were 46.4 cents per gallon higher than a month ago but 40.4 cents lower than a year ago. National prices have increased 23.9 cents during the past month but decreased 50.2 cents during the past year.
"The cheapest gas prices of the year are now solidly behind us as the national average will soon again hit $2," said Patrick DeHaan, senior petroleum analyst for GasBuddy, in the release. "The current upward trend is an unfortunate one that we witness every year, but the sudden jolt this time around has been enhanced by a 45 percent jump in the price of crude oil in the last month.”
With a $1.85 per gallon average this morning, Missouri ranked 18th on
GasBuddy’s list of the lowest averages in the nation. At $1.70 per gallon, New Jersey and South Carolina tied for No. 1, while California bottomed out the list with its average of $2.60 per gallon.
In Missouri, the lowest price of gas this morning was reported as $1.44 per gallon at a station in Stover, near Jefferson City. The highest was $2.59 per gallon at a Cape Girardeau station, according to MissouriGasPrices.com.
Springfieldians could purchase gas for as low as $1.69 per gallon at the 777 E. Battlefield Road location of Kum & Go and the 820 E. Battlefield Road Cenex station. Prices elsewhere in the city ranged from $1.73 to $1.79 per gallon.
West Texas Intermediate crude oil was trading at $36.79 per barrel as of 11:46 a.m., compared to a 52-week range of $28.74 to $65.71. Light sweet crude oil futures for April were trading at $36.77 per barrel on
the New York Mercantile Exchange.
