Gas nears $5 per gallon average
The price of a gallon of gas rose above $5 in several Butler County locations Tuesday, as the average price for fuel once again set records.
At the Marathon fueling stations on South Main and East Jefferson streets in Butler, gas cost $5.09 per gallon Tuesday, according to GasBuddy, a platform which tracks fuel prices via user input. In Cranberry Township, the Sunoco on Freedom Road also reached $5.09 per gallon, while most other gas stations hovered around $4.99.
Stefanie Huff, a stay-at-home mom, said gas prices played a role in her family’s decision not to go on vacation this summer.
While fueling up a minivan at a GetGo station in Cranberry where fuel cost $4.99 per gallon, she said, “When it came down to adding everything up, it just didn’t make sense.”
At a Sunoco in Butler, Katie Heigley filled up a vehicle she called a “gas hog.”
“It’s unbelievable. I’m putting in gas every other day,” she said. The Butler resident said she is considering getting a smaller car to save on gas, but she needs the space of a larger vehicle. “It’s really hard. I’m mortified.”
The countywide average for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline Tuesday was $4.90, according to AAA, lower than both the national average of $4.91 and the Pennsylvania average of $4.98.
Drivers whose vehicles require a higher octane face even higher prices, with a statewide mid-grade average cost of $5.29 per gallon and a premium gallon price at an average of $5.57. Diesel cost $6.17 per gallon on average across the state, AAA reported.
While some Americans may be altering their vacation plans, the cost of gas hasn’t reached a point where the average person’s daily lifestyle will be heavily changed, according to a AAA spokesman.
“People are still fueling up, despite these high prices,” AAA spokesman Andrew Gross said. “At some point, drivers may change their daily driving habits or lifestyle due to these high prices, but we are not there yet.”
A barrel of crude oil cost roughly $120 Tuesday, according to Business Insider. On June 1, according to the U.S. Department of Energy, a barrel cost $107.12. The last time the Department of Energy reported a crude oil price higher than $120 was in July 2008.
