Local News

Average gas price in Mass. climbs above $5

But gas prices in Massachusetts did not increase as much as the national average.

Average gas prices in Massachusetts are now above $5 per gallon. (Bryan Anselm/The New York Times)

June 13, 2022

The average price for gas in Massachusetts continued to climb last week, rising 8 cents over the week before.

According to AAA’s gas price tracker, the average price for unleaded gas in Massachusetts was $5.048 on Monday.

While this increase is not as dramatic as last week’s — when the average price rose a whopping 27 cents — prices are still far above what they were even just a month ago when the average price was $4.47 per gallon.

Many Bay Staters are looking back fondly to the low gas prices the state experienced last year. A year ago Monday the average gas price was just $2.94 per gallon.

Massachusetts’s gas prices remain slightly above the national average of $5.014 per gallon, but did not increase as drastically as the national average gas price, which went up 15 cents over the week before.

Local

According to AAA, gas prices are still rising because the cost of a barrel of oil remains elevated, and demand continues to outpace the global supply despite ongoing releases from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.

Additionally, domestic gasoline demand hasn’t weakened enough to affect crude oil prices, AAA wrote in a news release.

All eyes will be on domestic gasoline demand over the next few weeks to see if record prices convince consumers to cut back on their fuel consumption, AAA wrote.

“With gas prices near or above $5 and inflation at a four-decade high, many consumers will begin to change their driving habits. But demand is still high, Mary Maguire, a AAA Northeast director, said in the release.

“After two consecutive summers of restricted travel and socialization, Americans seem more reluctant to stay home in spite of strain on their budgets.”

Within Massachusetts, Dukes and Nantucket Counties had the highest gas prices at $6.049 and $5.897 per gallon, respectively. Bristol and Hampden Counties had the lowest prices in the state, both managing to stay under $5 per gallon at $4.966.