Gas prices in west central Kentucky matriculated two cents higher this week, up $3.25 a gallon.
That’s according to AAA East Central’s Gas Price Report, where unleaded self-serve gasoline was $3.23 leading into Memorial Day.
In Bowling Green, it’s $3.28, in Elizabethtown it’s $2.96, in Louisville it’s $3.71, in Owensboro it’s $3.08 and in Paducah, it’s $3.21.
This time last year, however, it was $4.29.
The seasonal surge in gasoline demand, rolling into a long holiday weekend, resulted in the national average for a gallon of gas rising three cents to $3.57. That rise in gasoline demand helped push pump prices higher, but the increases are tempered by the lower cost of oil.
Barrel cost is currently in the low $70s, and today’s national average is four cents less than a month ago and $1.04 less than a year ago.
At the close of Wednesday’s formal trading session, West Texas Intermediate increased by $1.43 to settle at $74.34. Oil prices rose amid growing market optimism that energy demand is rebounding. However, price increases were capped due to the market expecting another interest rate increase from the U.S. Federal Reserve, which could result in the economy tipping into a recession.
