Breckenridge Texan

The national average price of gasoline passed the $3 per gallon mark on Wednesday, May 12, according to GasBuddy, a travel and navigation app that posts gas prices around the country. The milestone has not been seen since David Letterman still hosted Late Night, Pharrell’s hat was introduced to the world, and Kim and Kanye got hitched, GasBuddy reported.

In its weekly gas prices report, GasBuddy showed that the national average price of gasoline had risen 4.5 cents per gallon in the last week, averaging $2.95/g on Monday. The national average was up 10.0 cents per gallon from a month ago and was $1.12/g higher than a year ago. In Texas, had risen 6.8 cents per gallon in the past week, averaging $2.67/g on Monday, based on GasBuddy’s daily survey of 13,114 stations in Texas. Gas prices in Texas were 8.3 cents per gallon higher than a month ago and stand $1.16/g higher than a year ago.

In Breckenridge, on Wednesday evening, most stations in town were selling regular gasoline for $2.89/gallon. See the chart at the end of this article for the details.

GasBuddy attributed the higher prices to the COVID-19 related recovery that is pushing things back to normal and leading to rising gasoline demand.

On the other hand, AAA’s weekly gas prices report credited the higher prices to “the shutdown of the Colonial Pipeline, which delivers approximately 45% of all fuel to the East Coast. Over the weekend, the Colonial Pipeline announced they were the victim of a cybersecurity attack and, as a precaution, shut down the pipeline, which runs from Texas to New York Harbor.”

The Associated Press reported on Wednesday evening, May 12, that the pipeline had been reopened. The article quoted Colonial Pipeline as saying that it would take several days for gasoline deliveries to return to normal. The shutdown had caused gasoline shortages in the southeastern United States.

GasBuddy previously forecasted higher gas prices in its 2021 Fuel Outlook released in January of this year.

“While this is not a milestone anyone wants to celebrate, it’s a sign that things are slowly returning to normal,” said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy. “In this case, rising gas prices are a sign Americans are getting back out into the world — attending baseball games, going to concerts, taking a road trip — basically staying anywhere but at home. This summer may see some blockbuster demand for fuel as well, as Americans find it very challenging to travel internationally, leading many to stay in the confines of U.S. borders, boosting some weeks to potentially record gasoline demand.”

GasBuddy expects summer gas prices not to set records, but settle down to levels more similar to 2018: the national average briefly rising above $3/gallon but eventually falling back under and remaining in the upper $2 to low $3 per gallon range. Should any major refinery issues develop in the midst of the summer travel season, gas prices could become impacted in a large way, especially if the economy continues to see solid recovery and demand for fuels increases.

Gas Prices in Breckenridge, Texas