SC gas prices tick up slightly over past week

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) - South Carolina drivers saw gas prices in the state bump up one cent over the past week.

A GasBuddy survey shows the average price for a gallon of gas in the Palmetto State sits at $3.14 putting prices 7.1 cents lower than a month ago and $1.07 lower than one year ago.

The cheapest gas in the state was priced at $2.83 per gallon as of Tuesday morning while the most expensive was $3.69, a difference of 86 cents per gallon.

In the Tri-County, the cheapest gas as of Monday morning was at a station in Moncks Corner selling gas for $2.99 per gallon.

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GasBuddy Head of Petroleum Analysis Patrick De Haan says the higher prices are a result of minor refinery kinks and low supply.

“Gasoline prices have drifted higher in the last week due to some relatively minor refinery kinks and low gasoline supply, but it may not be a trend that lasts too much longer,” De Haan said. “As we unofficially start the summer driving season, the national average is likely to spend much of the summer in the range of $3.35-$3.85 per gallon, though it could go higher if unexpected refinery outages flare up, or we see a major hurricane or economic development. While gasoline prices have inched up slightly, we’re still faring much better than we did last year, when the national average started to soar after Memorial Day on its way up to the $5 per gallon mark. In addition, gas prices may temporarily rally if there’s a debt ceiling deal that passes through Congress in the weeks ahead, based on the optimism that such a deal could avert a major recession, keeping oil demand stronger this summer.”

Nationally, the average price for a gallon of gas rose 2.7 cents to $3.55. The national average is down 3.2 cents from a month ago and stands at $1.05 cents per gallon lower than one year ago, according to GasBuddy data compiled from more than 11 million weekly price reports covering over 150,000 gas stations across the country.

The national price of diesel fell 4.9 cents over the past week and stands at $3.91 per gallon.