An electronic sign at the recently-opened Wawa at Rt. 309 and Passer Road in Upper Saucon Township advertises a gallon of unleaded gas for $3.74 on Monday. Gas prices have been high throughout the winter, and are expected to remain high.
The price of a gallon of gas in the Saucon Valley and Southern Lehigh areas has been high for some time, and experts say that with the war between Russia and Ukraine now limiting U.S. access to Russian oil supplies, it appears unlikely to drop anytime soon.
Why is gas so high?
In a story about Lehigh Valley gas prices published Monday by Lehigh University’s newspaper, The Brown & White, AAA East Central director of legislative affairs Theresa Podguski noted that Russia is one of the world’s leading oil producers.
The newspaper also interviewed Lehigh economics professor Mary Deily, who noted that a robust economic recovery from the COVID pandemic has pushed pump prices higher.
In a story by the PBS NewsHour, Ryan Dezember of the Wall Street Journal said that when the pandemic curtailed consumption the gas and oil industry lowered its production capability, which is why supply hasn’t yet caught up to increased demand.
The price of a gallon of unleaded at the Turkey Hill on Rt. 309 in Coopersburg was $3.75 on Monday afternoon. That’s about 80 cents higher than it was a year ago, and the increase comes amid an overall inflation rate that’s at a 40-year high.
According to AAA, a gallon of unleaded gasoline in the Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton area currently costs $3.76 on average. One month ago that same gallon of gas cost nearly a quarter less, or $3.52 on average, and a year ago it cost $2.92, according to AAA data.
The AAA website includes an interactive map on which average gas prices by county are kept up to date. As of Monday the map indicated that prices in western and parts of central Pennsylvania are slightly lower than they are in the eastern part of the state.
The average price of a gallon of gas in Pennsylvania is typically higher than the national average, because Pennsylvania has some of the highest taxes on gasoline in the country.
In the Saucon Valley and Southern Lehigh areas on Monday, the price of a gallon of unleaded gas ranged from $3.74 to $3.81 at most stations, including a Wawa with 16 gas pumps that recently opened on Rt. 309 in Upper Saucon Township. In Hellertown specifically, the price at the borough’s four gas stations ranged between $3.79 and $3.81 a gallon, according to GasBuddy.com.
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The highest the price of gas has ever been–since records have been kept–was $4.07 a gallon on July 16, 2008, according to AAA.
US Gas on Rt. 309 in Coopersburg Monday advertised a gallon of regular unleaded for $3.69 if payment was with cash or $3.79 if payment was with credit or debit. Diesel was advertised at $4.25 a gallon.