US Gas Prices Surge as Crude Oil Costs Skyrocket

The national average retail price of regular grade gasoline has risen by 10.8 cents per gallon in the past three weeks to $4.254 per gallon, according to the Lundberg Survey of U.S. fuel markets.

This increase is largely due to rising crude oil prices, with the near-month closing futures price of the U.S. benchmark crude oil West Texas Intermediate reaching $100.05 per barrel on September 11, up $12.99 during the three-week period.

The equivalent increase in gasoline prices is around 31 cents per gallon, while the Lundberg weighted wholesale buying price of regular grade was $3.489 per gallon on September 11, up 27.6 cents per gallon in the past three weeks.

This surge in fuel costs has resulted in a significant loss of retail margin for gasoline retailers, with their profit margins crashing by 16.8 cents to an impossibly low 13.5 cents per gallon.