By Kevin Haas
Rock River Current
Get our mobile app
ROCKFORD — Gas prices in the city have jumped nearly 42 cents per gallon to the highest level in five months, according to data from GasBuddy.
The average price at the pump was $3.67 per gallon to start the week, according to GasBuddy’s survey of 139 stations in Rockford. Prices ranged from $3.04 per gallon to $3.89. The last time prices at the start of the week were that high was Oct. 2.
More news: First Rockford area home sale data of 2024 shows higher prices, more sales
Prices in Rockford are 65 cents per gallon higher than a month ago and 20 cents per gallon higher than a year ago, according to GasBuddy data. Prices here are about 33 cents per gallon higher than the national average.
The national average price rose 10 cents per gallon in the past week to $3.34. That’s up 22 cents per gallon from a month ago and about 3 cents per gallon lower than a year ago, according to GasBuddy data from more than 150,000 gas stations across the country.
“A majority of the nation’s 50 states have seen gasoline prices rise, with the national average posting a gain for the second straight week, a trend that is hardly surprising for this time of year, and will likely continue as the entire nation has now made the first step toward summer gasoline,” Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, said in a news release.
“The pinch at the pump has been manageable for now, with prices about 30 cents higher than mid-January, but that will likely change as we enter the madness we tend to see in March with refinery maintenance hitting its peak, impacting how much gasoline can be produced as we make the changeover to the summer blends. This always crimps supply, leading to further gas price increases.”
March 4 | Historical average gas prices
Year | Rockford average cost | National average
2023 | $3.47 | $3.37
2022 | $4.09 | $3.92
2021 | $2.87 | $2.75
2020 | $2.38 | $2.41
2019 | $2.36 | $2.43
2018 | $2.46 | $2.52
2017 | $2.28 | $2.31
2016 | $1.74 | $1.81
2015 | $2.42 | $2.45
2014 | $3.64 | $3.46
Source: GasBuddy
This article is by Kevin Haas. Email him at khaas@rockrivercurrent.com or follow him on X at @KevinMHaas or Instagram @thekevinhaas and Threads @thekevinhaas