SPOKANE, Wash. — The average price for a gallon of gas in Washington state has topped $5 per gallon for the first time ever, according to the American Automobile Association (AAA).
According to the AAA website, the average price for a gallon of regular unleaded gas in Washington State is currently $5.03, up from $4.83 per gallon one week ago.
In Spokane, gas prices did not change much in the last week, averaging $4.67 per gallon on Monday, according to a GasBuddy survey of 187 gas stations in Spokane. Regular gas prices in Spokane increased 44.4 cents from last month are are currently $1.49 more than this time one year ago.
According to GasBuddy, the cheapest station in Spokane was priced at $4.42 per gallon on Sunday, while the most expensive was $4.96 per gallon. The lowest price in Washington state was $4.25 per gallon, while the highest was $5.99 per gallon.
Washington state's average gas price is currently 55 cents higher than the national average price, which is $4.48 per gallon, according to AAA.
“Those filling their tanks last week saw another jolt at the pump, as both gasoline and diesel prices continued their multi-week rally," Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, said in a statement. "New records continued to be set on a near-daily basis as the national average edges even closer to $4.50 per gallon. Prices later this week could be closer to $5 per gallon than $4, as demand continues to edge higher and inventories of both gasoline and diesel continue to decline, temperatures warm and motorists get back outside and we near the Memorial Day weekend, the start of the summer driving season. While the increases may start to slow in the days ahead as pump prices catch up to oil, there isn't much reason to be optimistic that we'll see a plunge any time soon."