How to cut costs at the pump as gas prices keep rising

How to cut costs at the pump as gas prices keep rising

You may already have noticed that you're spending more to fill your car's gas tank.

Don't be surprised if the price keeps ticking higher.

The national average cost for a gallon of gas has increased by about 18 cents over the last two weeks, on the heels of reduced oil-refining capacity during the extreme cold in Texas, according to GasBuddy. Now, a big contributor will be rising demand amid lower oil production and elevated prices for crude “” which accounts for more than half the price of gas.

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The current national average for a gallon of regular unleaded is $2.74. That's $1 more than the $1.74 tallied in April 2020, when the pandemic first took hold and demand plummeted, GasBuddy data shows. The states with the lowest average prices include Mississippi ($2.35), Louisiana ($2.37) and Texas ($2.39), while those with the highest averages are California $(3.67), Hawaii ($3.41) and Washington ($3.08).

The cost per gallon also tends to rise in the spring as demand increases and stations switch to cleaner and more environmentally friendly gas for the summer.

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