Gem State pumps see 20-cent jumps
A customer fills up at Prime Gas and Grocery at Sherman Avenue and Seventh Street on Tuesday. According to AAA, Idaho experienced the biggest monthly gas price increase in the U.S. with a 20-cent jump. Coeur d'Alene prices are averaging $2.35 per gallon while Boise is at $2.55 per gallon.
DEVIN WEEKS/Press
Idaho drivers might do double-takes the next time they fill up their tanks.
According to AAA, the Gem State has experienced the biggest monthly increase in the U.S. with a 20-cent jump in gas prices.
The rising cost of crude oil continues to press upward on the price of fuel. Crude oil prices for 2021 could top the highest price in 2020 as early as this week.
Crude oil accounts for 50% of the price at the pump. The West Texas Intermediate has been steadily climbing since the beginning of the year, despite relatively low fuel demand.
Right now, a barrel of crude oil is trading near $60 a barrel, up $12 a barrel from Jan. 1.
AAA Idaho spokesman Matthew Conde said in a Tuesday news release that "there is strong market optimism that COVID-19 vaccines will help restore economic activity and bring some demand for fuel back online."
But right now demand is modest, at just 7.7 million barrels per day.
"If we see higher crude oil prices over a sustained period of time coupled with a spike in gasoline demand as the warm weather returns, that could pack a serious punch for the family budget in the weeks ahead," Conde said.
Coeur d'Alene's gas prices are mid-range compared with other Idaho cities. As of Tuesday, Coeur d'Alene gas prices averaged $2.35 per gallon, the same as in Pocatello. Franklin gas is about $2.33 per gallon, while Boise tops off the list at $2.55 per gallon.