AAA: Gas Prices Rose Another 8 Cents; Quarter More A Gallon Than Last Month

FRAMINGHAM – Massachusetts’s average gas price is up eight cents from last week ($2.56), averaging $2.64 per gallon., according to AAA Northeast, which has an office in Framingham

Today’s price is 25 cents higher than a month ago ($2.39), and 18 cents higher than March 1, 2020 ($2.46).

Massachusetts’s average gas price is 8 cents lower than the national average.

[broadstreet zone=”59945″]

The latest price jumps are a direct result of February’s winter storm that took 26 U.S. refineries offline and pushed refinery utilization from an average of about 83% down to an atypical low of 68%, according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA). In its latest data, EIA also reported demand at 7.2 million barrels per day. Both utilization and demand rates have not been reported this low since last May, said AAA in a press release.

AAA forecasts the national gas price average to hit at least $2.80 in March.

For motorists, that means they can expect continued increases of at least 5–10 cents locally until refinery operations are stable.

[broadstreet zone=”59948″]

“Barring hurricane season, March may bring the most expensive pump prices of 2021,” said Mary Maguire, AAA Northeast Director of Public and Government Affairs. “While the month is roaring in like a lion, by the end of it we could see some relief at the pump as refineries resume normal operations, especially if crude oil prices show signs of stability.”

AAA Northeast’s March 1 survey of fuel prices found the current national average to be 9 cents higher than last week ($2.63), averaging $2.72 a gallon.

Today’s national average price is 30 cents higher than a month ago ($2.42), and 28 cents higher than this day last year ($2.44).

*Prices as of March 1, 2021

***.

AAA Northeast is a not-for-profit auto club with 70 offices in Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Jersey, New Hampshire and New York, providing more than 6 million local AAA members with travel, insurance, finance, and auto-related services.