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You may have already noticed that you spend more to fill the car’s fuel tank.
Don’t be surprised if the price keeps going up.
The national average cost per gallon of gas has risen by about 18 cents in the past two weeks due to reduced oil refining capacity during the extreme cold in Texas, according to GasBuddy. Now, a major contributor will be the increase in demand amid lower oil production and high crude oil prices – which is more than half the price of gas.
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The current national average for a gallon of ordinary lead is $ 2.74. $ 1 more than $ 1.74 in April 2020, when the pandemic first hit and demand dropped, GasBuddy reports. The countries 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 increase in the spring, as demand increases and the stations switch to cleaner, greener gas for the summer.
There are ways to save money on gasoline – beyond things like speed limits and avoiding aggressive driving – which could translate into hundreds of dollars a year.
For starters, go shopping. Depending on where you live, there may be large price variations between gas stations. And even if the price difference per gallon can be only a few pennies, it still adds up.
“Too many drivers just end up at the nearest pump and overpay,” Patrick De Haan, head of oil analysis for GasBuddy, said.
There can also be strong price differences from one state to another. For example, an Arizona gas station is $ 1 less than a competitor on the California state line, De Haan said. (California tax per gallon is 82 cents and Arizona is 37 cents.)
In addition, there are apps – including GasBuddy, Gas Guru and AAA TripTik – that you can use to find the best prices along the route.
It is also worth looking at the loyalty programs that many important chains have. In general, they are free and can offer cents per gallon, De Haan said.
However, credit cards that offer discounts on gas purchases may not be the best option, unless you usually pay your card balance.
“If you don’t pay the bill, you end up giving the bank more money than the discount is worth,” De Haan said. “Cards work if you pay for them, but not if you carry the balance month by month.”