Gas prices in central Pa. hit $5 (gulp) a gallon, up a dollar in three months

Teresa Boeckel, York Daily Record
·3 min read

Gas prices in central Pennsylvania have surpassed $5 a gallon at some local stations, and others are a nickel away.

The Weis Markets in the Queensgate Shopping Center in York Township listed the price as $5.05 a gallon for regular gas on Monday. Other stations in the region are selling it for $4.95, according to GasBuddy.

It was only three months ago that gas prices surpassed the $4 mark, a cost at that time that many drivers hadn't seen in years. Now it's a dollar more a gallon.

The American Automobile Association says a barrel of oil now costs nearly $120, which is almost double the price from August 2021. Robust travel for the Memorial Day weekend increased demand for fuel, forcing prices to surge, according to a news release. Supply remains tight.

“People are still fueling up, despite these high prices,” Andrew Gross, AAA spokesperson, said in a news release. “At some point, drivers may change their daily driving habits or lifestyle due to these high prices, but we are not there yet.”

For all of the metro markets in Pennsylvania, including Adams, Franklin, Lebanon and York, the average prices broke another record on Tuesday, according to AAA.

The national average for a gallon of gas was $4.91 on Tuesday, according to AAA.

Expect higher gas prices − possibly for years

Despite the rising gas prices, Americans aren't slowing down at all, said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy.

It's a complex problem that goes back to the coronavirus pandemic changing consumer consumption. Gasoline demand plummeted, which caused prices to go down and oil companies and refineries to shut down.

Then things came back with a fury, he said. Demand started to skyrocket, and oil companies were caught off guard by the swift return of the economy. Some of the shutdowns were permanent, and Russia's invasion of Ukraine made the situation worse.

"Now we're kind of in a predicament that all these issues have snowballed and have caused prices to go up, and Americans aren't really curbing consumption," De Haan said. "So prices continue to rise until there's a point where consumers, you know, react, and we really haven't seen it much yet."

An overnight solution to the problem does not exist, he said. U.S. gasoline inventories are now at their lowest seasonal level since 2014.

Supply may go up a little bit, and demand might go down some, but this could be a long-term challenge.

The relatively high prices could stick around for a few years as the situation slowly improves, De Haan said.

COVID brought on many disruptions, he said. Target reported another profit warning, indicating that consumers aren't interested now in buying things. They want to get out.

"I think that's why we're seeing demand not decline in light of prices," he said.

While gasoline might be a little cheaper in a neighboring state, such as Maryland, most of the time it doesn't make sense for drivers to travel out of their way to fill up, especially with prices so high, De Haan said.

He recommends people check the prices around them so they can make a decision individually. The GasBuddy app is terrific for that, he said.

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PA gas prices

Here's a look at the average prices for a regular gallon of gas around the state as of June 7, according to AAA:

  • Allentown/Bethlehem/Easton: $5.01

  • Altoona: $4.90

  • Bloomsburg/Berwick: $4.98

  • Chambersburg/Waynesboro: $4.91

  • East Stroudsburg: $5.06

  • Erie: $4.90

  • Gettysburg: $4.94

  • Harrisburg: $4.93

  • Johnstown: $4.86

  • Lancaster: $4.97

  • Lebanon: $4.93

  • Mercer County: $4.92

  • Philadelphia: $5.08

  • Pittsburgh: $4.91

  • Reading: $4.98

  • Scranton/Wilkes-Barre/Hazleton: $5.11

  • State College: $4.91

  • Williamsport: $4.96

  • York, Pa.: $4.92

Teresa Boeckel is the trending reporter for the York Daily Record, part of the USA TODAY NETWORK. Contact her at tboeckel@ydr.com, by phone at 717-771-2031 or on Twitter @teresaboeckel.

This article originally appeared on York Daily Record: Gas prices in central Pa. surpass $5 a gallon at some stations