Frigid weather in the Northeast and the high cost of crude oil are pushing up gasoline prices at a time of year when consumers historically have gotten a break.
The average retail price for regular unleaded across the nation climbed to $1.56 a gallon on Monday, according to the federal Energy Information Administration.
That was the highest average price for the month of January, not accounting for inflation, since the agency began tracking weekly fuel prices in mid-1990.
The average for a gallon of unleaded in the Seattle-Bellevue-Everett area was $1.62 as of Wednesday, according to AAA. That’s more than 20 cents above what motorists paid at the pump this time last year.
While the statewide average price for fuel has moved four or five cents since the end of December, sharper spikes in this area aren’t hard to find, said Janet Ray, a spokeswoman for AAA’s regional office in Bellevue.
"Anecdotally, we’ve seen some stations in Western Washington rise 10 or 15 cents a gallon in the past two weeks," Ray said.
While it was possible to fill up for less than $1.55 a gallon at some Arco outlets and other stations, prices in and around Snohomish County on Wednesday morning mostly ranged above $1.60. Along Pacific Avenue, the 76 station was charging $1.63 a gallon, Chevron was at $1.66 a gallon at Texaco wanted $1.65 a gallon.
In the Frontier Village area near Lake Stevens, the Chevron station along Highway 9 was charging $1.70, while $1.80 a gallon was the price at a nearby Texaco station.
In previous years, gasoline prices often bottomed out in January and February, then rose in anticipation of more driving in the spring and summer.
This is at least the second year in a row that’s seen a change in that pattern, however. The looming possibility of war with Iraq and unrest in Venezuela in early 2003 sent prices rising fast by February.
Other factors are at work this time, said Geoff Sundstrom, a spokesman at AAA’s national headquarters in Florida. For example, unusually cold temperatures in many parts of the country have led refineries to focus on producing home heating oil and fuels needed to produce electricity.
"Aside from the cold weather, the similarity between now and last year is the price of crude oil," Sundstrom said. "That’s certainly putting pressure on gas prices."
Crude prices topped $35 a barrel earlier this week, which was the highest level since U.S. troops entered Iraq last March. The high crude prices come at a time when oil inventories in this country are at their lowest since 1975, according to the Energy Information Administration.
Reporter Eric Fetters: 425-339-3453 or fetters@heraldnet.com.
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