Gas prices climb by over 30 cents in a week in Washington

Gas prices in western Washington are rising at an alarming rate, and all indications are they will continue to climb.

On Wednesday, the oil-producing countries that comprise OPEC decided to cut production to increase prices even more.

On Tuesday, AAA reported gas was at $5.32 a gallon in Washington, a 30-cent hike from a week ago when prices were just over $5 a gallon on average.

AAA reported that a gallon of regular gas in the Seattle, Bellevue, and Everett areas was at $5.52, a 27-cent rise from last week.

In Tacoma, drivers can expect to pay $5.47 and in Olympia, it was only a cent cheaper, both up by at least 35 cents from last week.

While the U.S. doesn’t get its oil from OPEC, it certainly does affect worldwide prices.

Another factor impacting local gas prices is that Washington refineries are temporarily at reduced capacity for maintenance.

In Auburn, KIRO 7′s Graham Johnson found drivers once again looking at their fill-up totals with astonishment.

One driver said she paid $74.82 for 12 gallons and another person filling up her tank said she got “14 gallons for $70. Yeah, pretty bad.”

Other examples of high gas prices included a person who pumped 1.2 gallons for just over $7, someone who got 16 gallons for $93, and another who paid $156 for 26 gallons. The high prices hurt.

When Johnson asked Seattle University economist Vladimir Dashkeev why prices were going up, he said global oil supply had dwindled due to COVID-19-era shortages and fewer Russian oil exports after its invasion of Ukraine.

“The remaining energy is becoming more scarce and therefore prices are rising,” Dashkeev said.

And now the OPEC cartel is cutting production even more.

“This is designed to specifically increase their revenues and the price of energy,” Dashkeev said.

Dashkeev said OPEC’s move could affect the global oil marketplace for months.

The local factor impacting gas prices involves Washington oil refineries’ maintenance, where the switch is made to winter blends. AAA said refineries delayed summertime maintenance so as not to further raise prices during the summer driving season and are now catching up on work they can no longer put off.

The latest gas price spike could be a problem for Democrats as the midterm election rapidly approaches.

President Joe Biden had been celebrating the recent drop in gas prices but now they’re rising again.