Gas prices: Soaring costs at the pumps along the West Coast
Gas prices remained steady for most of the country on Friday. The national average price for regular gas is $3.199 per gallon.
Yet while the national average has not changed much, fuel costs have soared on the West Coast in recent weeks. Statewide averages for gas prices in California, Oregon, and Washington have increased over the last month. Prices in those states remain much higher than the national average, with fuel costs over a $4.20 per-gallon price point in each state.
Across most of the country, gas prices are well within the $3 per gallon range. Over the last week, they have fluctuated between $3.188 and $3.203 per gallon. According to AAA, those prices are slightly more expensive than a month ago, when the national average cost for a gallon of regular gas was $3.13.
However, this price range for gas has been the norm for the last few months. On Sept. 2, the day after Labor Day, the national average price for gas was $3.186 per gallon. In mid-August, the average price was $3.153 per gallon. Toward the end of July, the average cost for a gallon of regular gas was $3.14,