Gas prices in the Boise area are skyrocketing. Here’s how much you’ll pay now
Gas prices in Idaho jumped 9 cents overnight in response to surging world oil prices.
“Escalating violence in Ukraine is stoking market uncertainty, and crude oil is extremely volatile right now,” AAA spokesperson Matthew Conde said Friday in a news release. “Unfortunately, we probably haven’t seen the worst of it. With a potential ban on crude oil imports from Russia, the upcoming switch to more expensive summer-blend fuel, and growing gasoline demand to kick off the spring driving season, there could be plenty to frown about as we stop to fill up over the coming weeks and months.”
The Idaho average for regular gas Friday morning was $3.71 per gallon, 17 cents higher than a week ago. The national average was at $3.84, up 27 cents from last week. That’s the highest national average since March 2012.
Prices have surged 29 cents since Russia invaded Ukraine eight days ago.
Prices could soon reach $4 a gallon, Conde said. That last occurred in Idaho and nationally in summer 2008. A year ago, gas prices averaged $2.67 a gallon in Idaho and $2.75 nationally.
The price of West Texas Intermediate Crude Oil jumped $7 per barrel on Friday, to $110.60. The price has climbed $34.52 since the first of the year.
Regular gas at Costco in Boise, where the price is consistently the lowest in town, was selling just before noon Friday for $3.50 a gallon, up 6 cents from 20 minutes earlier according to GasBuddy, a tracking service. Premium was 24 cents higher. Costco in Nampa was selling regular gas for $3.55 just after noon.
In Pocatello, Costco had gas for $3.48, while it was $3.37 at Costco in Coeur d’Alene. The AAA averages were $3.64 in Pocatello and $3.58 in Coeur d’Alene.
The AAA average for diesel was $4.30 a gallon in Boise, up 5 cents from Thursday, $4.18 in Pocatello and $4.05 in Coeur d’Alene. The cheapest diesel in the Boise area was $3.77 at Walmart on East Fairview Avenue in Meridian, while Pocatello had it for $3.95 and $3.71 in Coeur d’Alene.
California has the highest gas prices in the nation, $5.07 a gallon, AAA said. Prices there have risen 41 cents in the past month.
Sanctions placed on Russia by the United States and other nations have so far excluded Russian oil exports. But traders have been reluctant to buy Russian oil, because of restrictions on the country’s banking sector. There’s also uncertainty about transport companies being willing to bring tanker ships to Russian ports in light of the Ukraine situation.
This story was originally published March 4, 2022 at 12:58 PM.
