Average gas prices in Arkansas are rising

Little Rock, Arkansas – The average gas price in Little Rock has increased 9.5 cents over the past week, according to a poll of 334 stations in the city.

Making the average price per gallon 3.17, it is 38.3 cents higher than it was a year ago and lower than it was a month ago.

The lowest station in Little Rock had a gallon price of $2.79 and the most expensive had a gallon price of $3.89, a difference of $1.10.

The state’s lowest price per gallon was $2.79, while the highest was $3.99, a $1.20 difference.

In the US, the average price of gasoline has increased by 3.2 cents to $3.67 a gallon. According to GasBuddy statistics culled from more than 11 million weekly price reports spanning more than 150,000 gas stations throughout the nation, the national average is down 17.5 cents per gallon from a month ago and is 49.3 cents per gallon more than it was a year ago.

“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,” said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy. “I don’t know that I’ve ever seen a wider gamut of price behaviors coast to coast in my career. 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 25-75 cents per gallon or more until issues are worked out. In addition, as Tropical Storm Ian nears the U.S. coast, some refiners could see limited disruption. As a precaution, GasBuddy has activated its Fuel Availability Tracker for motorists in Florida, Georgia, Alabama, and South Carolina. Hopefully, disruptions will be very limited due to Ian, but there remain many factors driving prices both up and down across the country.”

Neighboring areas and their current gas prices:

Memphis- $3.26/g, down 1.4 cents per gallon from last week’s $3.27/g.

Arkansas- $3.23/g, up 5.6 cents per gallon from last week’s $3.17/g.

Shreveport- $3.01/g, down 1 cent per gallon from last week’s $3.02/g.