Gasoline prices are going up nearly as fast a sky rocket on the Fourth of July and Oklahoma drivers are feeling the pain as AAA reports every state in the nation has an average price of more than $4 a gallon.
Just a few days after we reported Oklahoma’s new average had hit $4 a gallon, AAA came out with new data showing Oklahoma’s new average had jumped to $4.09 as of Wednesday. It made a 5-cent-a-gallon leap since Tuesday and 11 cents from a week ago.
The average price in Lawton is at $3.99 a gallon and it rose 9 cents from Tuesday and 11 cents over the past week. Oklahoma City’s new average price jumped 10 cents in one day and as of Wednesday sat at $4.05 per gallon. Prices in the metro gained 11 cents over the past week.
Tulsa drivers are paying a Wednesday average of $4.16 a gallon, same as the Tuesday average but 10 cents higher than a week ago.
But those averages are low compared to what some counties report including Coal County with a new average price of $4.45 per gallon; $4.33 in Rogers County next to the state line with Texas; and $4.38 a gallon in Ellis County in the northwest next to the Panhandle.
On the low end, three counties rank with prices still under $4 a gallon and they are: Harmon in the southwest at $3.89; Major in the northwest with a $3.90 average; and Bryan County east of I-35 and next to the state line with Texas with an average price of $3.92 per gallon.
AAA reports the new national average is $4.56 as prices are linked to the war in the Middle East and the continued throttling of oil in the Strait of Hormuz.
The Washington Examiner reports the $4 milestone for every state is the first time it’s occurred since the 2022 energy shock after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Seven states now average more than $5 per gallon, led by California, which is averaging more than $6 a gallon. Mississippi and Oklahoma, which are typically among the cheapest states for fuel, have also climbed above $4.
Oklahoma’s neighboring states including Texas with a new average price of $4.03. The average in Kansas is $4.11; New Mexico at $4.52, Colorado at $4.78; Missouri $4.19 and Arkansas $4.10 per gallon.