Washington gas prices slightly rise

WASHINGTON - Average gasoline prices in Washington have seen a slight increase of 0.5 cents per gallon over the past week, with the current average at $3.88 per gallon, as reported by GasBuddy's survey of 2,666 stations across the state. The current prices are 20.2 cents per gallon lower than last month and 15.2 cents per gallon lower than the same time last year. In contrast, the national average price for diesel has gone up by 3.0 cents in the last week, reaching $3.92 per gallon.

In terms of price variability, the least expensive gasoline in Washington was found at $2.99 per gallon yesterday, while the highest price was $5.99 per gallon, indicating a substantial difference of $3.00 per gallon across different locations.

On a national scale, the average price for gasoline has increased by 4.3 cents per gallon in the last week, setting the average at $3.12 per gallon. This marks an increase of 4.0 cents from the previous month and a decrease of 32.5 cents compared to the same period last year, based on GasBuddy data gathered from over 11 million weekly price reports from more than 150,000 gas stations nationwide.

Looking at historical data, gasoline prices have fluctuated over the past decade, with the average price in Washington on February 5th of each year and the corresponding U.S. average showing notable changes.

Current gas prices in neighboring areas are as follows:
- Tacoma: $3.75 per gallon, unchanged from last week.
- Seattle: $4.17 per gallon, a slight increase of 0.6 cents from last week.
- Yakima: $3.61 per gallon, decreasing by 4.0 cents from the previous week.

Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, commented on the trend, stating, "A majority of states again saw average gasoline prices rise over the last week, pushed slightly higher by oil prices that had risen to multi-month highs. While most states saw price increases, they were somewhat tame, though the trend will likely begin to accelerate towards the end of the month. For now, the most common gas price in the U.S. remains $2.99 per gallon, but its days are numbered. While Southern California is already beginning the transition to summer gasoline, and with it, higher prices, we could see a brief 'clearance sale' on remaining winter gasoline in some pockets of interior states as refiners start to move these time-sensitive barrels out of the system. Motorists shouldn't be fooled into thinking any drop in prices is a long-term trend, but rather a very short term one. I expect any modest and temporary drops in prices will be replaced by pricier gasoline as we get closer to the start of spring."